USDA Accepting Applications for Conservation Stewardship Program

QCS Staff

The U.S. Department of Agriculture will make available $100 million this year through the Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP) to assist farmers, ranchers and forest landowners who take steps to enhance conservation of natural resources.

Landowners should submit applications by Feb. 27, 2015 to ensure they are considered for this year’s funding, but applications received after that date will be considered for future funding, according to the New Mexico office of the USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service.

This year’s investment may result in the enrollment of up to 7.7 million acres in the program by private landowners, the news release said.

Through CSP, participants take steps to improve the resource conditions on their land that include soil, air and habitat quality, water quality and quantity, and energy conservation, the news release said.

New Mexico ranchers have already enrolled more than 5 million acres in CSP around the state, with common enhancements including grazing management to benefit wildlife, nutritional testing and installing escape ramps in livestock drinkers to help reduce wildlife mortality and improve water quality for livestock, the news release said.

These conservation enhancements include cover crops, intensive rotational grazing and wildlife- friendly fencing.

This year, CSP features a new pilot effort to accelerate private lands conservation activities to address particular goals, such as creating habitat for at-risk species and conserving and cleaning water. They include:

• Lesser Prairie-Chicken Initiative – Applicable states: Colorado, Kansas, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas.
• Ogallala Aquifer Initiative - Applicable states: Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska, New Mexico, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Texas and Wyoming.

“CSP is a way of incentivizing farmers, ranchers, and private forest managers who maintain a high level of conservation on their land and agree to adopt higher levels of stewardship,” said J. Xavier Montoya, State Conservationist for the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) in New Mexico. “By focusing on multiple resource concerns, landowners are able to achieve a sustainable landscape and maintain or increase the productivity of their operations.”

Applications should be submitted to local NRCS offices.

More information is available at the Tucumcari Service Center, 706 S. First St., Tucumcari. Information is available by telephone at (575) 461-3801, extension 3. Additional technical and financial assistance information is available by visiting www.nrcs.usda.gov/GetStarted or the local center.