The Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico is adversely affecting the marshes and coastlands used by shorebirds, waterfowl and other birds that will soon be traveling through the area on their annual migration south.
Under a new Migratory Bird Habitat Initiative (MBHI), Wildlife Mississippi (WM), the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) and the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) will work with landowners to manage portions of their land to enhance habitat for migrating birds.
The MBHI will improve habitat conditions and food sources for migratory birds likely to be impacted by the conditions in the Gulf of Mexico. This initiative will be delivered through two components: one component will be available on private agricultural lands and the second on Wetlands Reserve Program (WRP) easement lands. WM, the NFWF and the NRCS will be working in cooperation with private landowners and other partners to establish habitat and food sources as well as improve the overall habitat management on participating lands.
According
to State Conservationist Homer L. Wilkes, “More than 50 million migratory
birds traveling south in coming months will instinctively head toward the marshes
and coastal areas of the northern Gulf of Mexico. With some marshes and shorelines
already degraded and the potential for larger-scale oil impacts, it is essential
that we provide inland and coastal food, water and cover for migratory birds.”
Mississippi landowners have the opportunity to receive financial incentives to create habitat for migratory birds such as teal, shorebirds and waterfowl that may have difficulty finding suitable homes in the Gulf Coast marshes this fall and winter.
An extra $2.1 million in federal assistance is available to landowners in the lower portions of the Mississippi Flyway, which includes 23 Mississippi counties. The eligible counties are: Adams, Bolivar, Carroll, Claiborne, Coahoma, DeSoto, Grenada, Holmes, Humphreys, Issaquena, Jefferson, Leflore, Panola, Quitman, Sharkey, Sunflower, Tallahatchie, Tate, Tunica, Warren, Washington, Wilkinson and Yazoo. Please click on your county for contact information at the following link www.nrcs.usda.gov.
WM, the NFWF and the NRCS will use selected conservation programs of the Farm Bill to provide a variety of habitats to meet the needs of different species. Emphasis will be on creating or enhancing habitat for shorebirds and waterfowl, including shallow water, mudflat and sandflat habitats.
According to Brian Ballinger, a wildlife/wetlands biologist with WM, “Several
conservation programs offer incentives to landowners to create this habitat.
The incentives range from $2/acre to near $100/acre based on the habitat type,
such as moist-soil areas, flooded crop fields and mudflats in catfish ponds.”
Interested landowners have until August 1 to sign up at their local USDA Service
Center.
For detailed information regarding practice descriptions, priority maps and payment schedule rates, follow the links below.
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Wetlands Reserve Program (WRP) Narratives
Environmental Quality Incentives Program
(EQIP)/Wildlife Habitat Incentives Program (WHIP) Narratives
WRP Priority Areas Map
EQIP/WHIP Priority Map
MBHI Practice Matrix and Payment Schedule
Rates