[PCA] Fwd: USDA to Invest in Prairie Pothole Landscape Effort

Fri Feb 14 12:16:48 CST 2014

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: USDA Office of Communications <usda at public.govdelivery.com>
Date: Fri, Feb 14, 2014 at 11:35 AM
Subject: USDA to Invest in Prairie Pothole Landscape Effort

USDA Office of Communications Press Release
  Release No. 0023.14  Contact:  Office of Communications
(202)720-4623     USDA
to Invest in Prairie Pothole Landscape Effort

WASHINGTON, Feb. 14, 2014 - Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced
that up to $35 million will be provided during the next three years to help
landowners conserve grasslands and wetlands in the Prairie Pothole region.
The announcement was made on the Secretary's behalf by Under Secretary for
Natural Resources and Environment Robert Bonnie.

Farmers, ranchers and conservation partners will have access to a mix of
financial and technical assistance opportunities through the Natural
Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) to restore wetlands and grasslands.

"This region of North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota, Iowa and Montana
provides critical breeding and nesting habitat for more than 60 percent of
the nation's migratory waterfowl," Bonnie said of the Prairie Pothole
region. "Our goal is to help landowners manage their working lands in a way
that's compatible with agricultural production and good stewardship of the
soil, water and habitat resources of the area so we are really talking
about keeping working lands working."

The wetlands and grasslands that characterize the region provide vital
water storage to reduce regional flooding, improve water quality, and have
tremendous potential to store carbon in soils, which reduces the level of
carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, one of the leading greenhouse gases
contributing to climate change.

The funding comes in a couple of pieces, including:

   - *Environmental Quality Incentives Program:* The agency's largest
   conservation program will help producers with expiring Conservation Reserve
   Program contracts keep their lands as working grasslands or haylands
   through implementation of prescribed grazing and other conservation
   practices.
   - *Ducks Unlimited-NRCS partnership for carbon credits:* NRCS is working
   with North Dakota, South Dakota and Montana to create a carbon credit
   marketing system for landowners who agreed to avoid tilling grasslands.
   This work started in 2011 in North Dakota as part of a Conservation
   Innovation Grant, but now it's being expanded to the three states. Through
   this system, interested landowners can keep their land in grass, continue
   grazing and haying, and generate verified carbon credits that place a
   conservation easement on their land. These credits can be sold or traded
   into existing voluntary carbon markets.

NRCS also is providing additional technical assistance to complete
certified wetland determinations, needed by producers to meet conservation
compliance requirements first put in place in 1985.

Additionally, the 2014 Farm Bill has expanded opportunities for conserving
grasslands and wetlands, including those in the Prairie Pothole region. To
find out more about USDA's efforts to work with producers in the region
click here<http://links.govdelivery.com:80/track?type=click&enid=ZWFzPTEmbWFpbGluZ2lkPTIwMTQwMjE0LjI4ODkxOTUxJm1lc3NhZ2VpZD1NREItUFJELUJVTC0yMDE0MDIxNC4yODg5MTk1MSZkYXRhYmFzZWlkPTEwMDEmc2VyaWFsPTE3OTU5NTk5JmVtYWlsaWQ9UGF0cmljaWFfRGVBbmdlbGlzQGZ3cy5nb3YmdXNlcmlkPVBhdHJpY2lhX0RlQW5nZWxpc0Bmd3MuZ292JmZsPSZleHRyYT1NdWx0aXZhcmlhdGVJZD0mJiY=&&&101&&&http://www.rma.usda.gov/data/pothole/>.
USDA also recently solicited proposals for Conservation Innovation
Grants<http://links.govdelivery.com:80/track?type=click&enid=ZWFzPTEmbWFpbGluZ2lkPTIwMTQwMjE0LjI4ODkxOTUxJm1lc3NhZ2VpZD1NREItUFJELUJVTC0yMDE0MDIxNC4yODg5MTk1MSZkYXRhYmFzZWlkPTEwMDEmc2VyaWFsPTE3OTU5NTk5JmVtYWlsaWQ9UGF0cmljaWFfRGVBbmdlbGlzQGZ3cy5nb3YmdXNlcmlkPVBhdHJpY2lhX0RlQW5nZWxpc0Bmd3MuZ292JmZsPSZleHRyYT1NdWx0aXZhcmlhdGVJZD0mJiY=&&&102&&&http://www.usda.gov/wps/portal/usda/usdahome?contentid=2014/02/0018.xml>
.

For more information on these opportunities, visit a local NRCS field
office<http://links.govdelivery.com:80/track?type=click&enid=ZWFzPTEmbWFpbGluZ2lkPTIwMTQwMjE0LjI4ODkxOTUxJm1lc3NhZ2VpZD1NREItUFJELUJVTC0yMDE0MDIxNC4yODg5MTk1MSZkYXRhYmFzZWlkPTEwMDEmc2VyaWFsPTE3OTU5NTk5JmVtYWlsaWQ9UGF0cmljaWFfRGVBbmdlbGlzQGZ3cy5nb3YmdXNlcmlkPVBhdHJpY2lhX0RlQW5nZWxpc0Bmd3MuZ292JmZsPSZleHRyYT1NdWx0aXZhcmlhdGVJZD0mJiY=&&&103&&&http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/detail/national/newsroom/features/?cid=nrcsdev11_000242>or
the NRCS
website<http://links.govdelivery.com:80/track?type=click&enid=ZWFzPTEmbWFpbGluZ2lkPTIwMTQwMjE0LjI4ODkxOTUxJm1lc3NhZ2VpZD1NREItUFJELUJVTC0yMDE0MDIxNC4yODg5MTk1MSZkYXRhYmFzZWlkPTEwMDEmc2VyaWFsPTE3OTU5NTk5JmVtYWlsaWQ9UGF0cmljaWFfRGVBbmdlbGlzQGZ3cy5nb3YmdXNlcmlkPVBhdHJpY2lhX0RlQW5nZWxpc0Bmd3MuZ292JmZsPSZleHRyYT1NdWx0aXZhcmlhdGVJZD0mJiY=&&&104&&&http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/detail/national/newsroom/features/?cid=nrcs143_008205>
.

#

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  If you have questions about USDA activities, please visit our Ask the
Expert<http://links.govdelivery.com:80/track?type=click&enid=ZWFzPTEmbWFpbGluZ2lkPTIwMTQwMjE0LjI4ODkxOTUxJm1lc3NhZ2VpZD1NREItUFJELUJVTC0yMDE0MDIxNC4yODg5MTk1MSZkYXRhYmFzZWlkPTEwMDEmc2VyaWFsPTE3OTU5NTk5JmVtYWlsaWQ9UGF0cmljaWFfRGVBbmdlbGlzQGZ3cy5nb3YmdXNlcmlkPVBhdHJpY2lhX0RlQW5nZWxpc0Bmd3MuZ292JmZsPSZleHRyYT1NdWx0aXZhcmlhdGVJZD0mJiY=&&&117&&&http://www.usda.gov/wps/portal/usda/usdahome?navid=ASK_EXPERT2>page.
This feature is designed to assist you in obtaining the information
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*USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer. To file a complaint of
discrimination, write: USDA, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Civil
Rights, Office of Adjudication, 1400 Independence Ave., SW, Washington, DC
20250-9410 or call (866) 632-9992 (Toll-free Customer Service), (800)
877-8339 (Local or Federal relay), (866) 377-8642 (Relay voice users).*
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