Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Wetland Reserve Program Has New Open Season Format

Instead of using conventional two- or three-week sign-up periods as in previous years, the U.S. Department of Agriculture Wetlands Reserve Program (WRP) began an open-season format for landowners November 4 to enroll in the program, according to Thomas H. Wehri, Natural Resouraces Conservation Service state conservationist, and Wayne Perryman, Farm Service Agency state executive director.

"The open-season format means that the sign-up period for enrollment will continue over the coming months," said Wehril. "Landowners who feel they have lands that qualify for the program can stop by the local offices of the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) service centers to obtain more information and apply for the program."

The new 1996 Farm Bill, or Federal Agriculture Improvement and Reform Act of 1996, requires that to the extend practicable, one-third of the remaining Wetlands Reserve Programs acres will be enrolled through the use of 30-year easements, and one-third through the use of restoration cost-share agreements.

According to Wehri, no new permanent easements can be enrolled until at least 43,333 acres of non-permanent easement are enrolled in the program nationwide.

As in previous sign-ups, the Wetlands Reserve Program objectives are to purchase conservation easements from, or enter into cost-sharing agreements with, willing owners of eligible land. The program also helps eligible landowners restore the original hydrology, native vegetation and natural topography of eligible lands. Another program objective is to restore and protect the functions and values of wetlands in agricultural landscapes.

Under the 1996 Farm Bill, the primary emphasis of the Wetlands Reserve Program is to restore the functions and values of wetland ecosystems to attain habital for wildlife and migratory birds. This includes threatened and endangered species.

WRP is administered by the Natural Resouraces Conservation Service in concurrence with the Farm Service Agency and in consultation with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and other cooperative agencies and organizations, like the Clark County Conservation District and Cooperative Extension Service.

Arkansas is national leader in enrollment acres in the Wetlands Reserve Program helping to convert marginal cropland back into healthy, productive wetland ecosystems for the betterment of the state and nation.

Additional information on the Wetlands Reserve Program can be obtained by telephoning the National Resources Conservation Service (formerly the Soil Conservation Service) at 501-246-9817 or stopping by the office located at 1030 Village North, Suite 2, in Arkadelphia.