May 5, 2003

Sign-Up For Conservation Reserve Program Announced
by James L. Cummins

The Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) is designed to improve our nation's natural resources. Participants voluntarily remove environmentally sensitive land from agricultural production by entering into 10 to 15-year contracts. By reducing water runoff and sedimentation, CRP also protects groundwater and helps improve the condition of lakes, rivers, ponds and streams. The CRP is a major contributor to increases in wildlife populations.

The CRP general sign-up will be held from May 5 through May 30. Producers can sign up at local U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) service centers or conservation district offices.

Aside from the general sign-up, the CRP's continuous sign-up program will be ongoing. The USDA is making a special effort to help enhance wildlife habitats and air quality by setting aside 500,000 acres for bottomland hardwood tree planting. Continuous sign-up for hardwood planting will start after the general sign-up.

Wildlife Mississippi is especially pleased with the $500 million continuous sign-up for bottomland hardwoods. The Foundation conceptualized this idea to address bottomlands not eligible for the continuous sign-up for buffers and the Wetland Reserve Program. Areas such as bottomlands of the floodplains around river basins are eligible. These include: Big Black River, Coastal, Mississippi River, North Independent, Pascagoula, Pearl, South Independent, Tennessee, Tombigbee and Yazoo.

Special thanks goes to The White House and the USDA for developing this special sign-up to address flood plains. President Bush has taken his personal knowledge of the beauty and ecological value of hardwood forests and has developed important policy to restore them throughout our nation. This continuous sign-up for hardwoods will greatly improve water quality, restore wildlife habitat for countless species and sequester over 200 million tons of carbon from our atmosphere. The Bush Administration is to be commended for developing policy that will improve the quality of life of millions of Americans.

Congressmen Bennie Thompson (D-MS) and Chip Pickering (R-MS) and the National Hardwood Lumber Association supported the effort.

Land enrolled as continuous sign-ups for the CRP will receive an annual rental payment. This payment is based on the soil type being offered and the average dry land cash rental rate for the county where the land is located. Special incentives, in the form of additional dollars paid to the producer, are added. Cost-sharing, at a rate of 50 percent, is available to establish the desired cover. Contracts under the continuous CRP sign-up are 10-15 years in length depending on the conservation practice.

James L. Cummins is Executive Director of the Mississippi Fish and Wildlife Foundation in Stoneville, Mississippi. Known as "Wildlife Mississippi," the Foundation is a non-profit, conservation organization founded to conserve, restore and enhance fish, wildlife and plant resources throughout Mississippi