Sign-Up for Farmers to Apply for USDA Wildlife Habitat Incentives Program Funds Ends on February 24, 2006

Maryland Media Liaison:

Carol Hollingsworth, 443-482-2902

ANNAPOLIS, MD (February 15, 2006) ---Virginia (Ginger) L. Murphy, State Conservationist for the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) announced that Maryland and the District of Columbia received additional funding of $155,906 from the 2002 Farm Bill to use to restore wildlife habitat through the US Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Wildlife Habitat Incentives Program (WHIP).   “NRCS Maryland received additional funds in recognition of the state’s high level of interest in restoring wildlife habitat and its cooperative partnership effort of helping people help the land.”

Murphy advises landowners interested in filing an application for funding consideration through WHIP to immediately contact their local NRCS or Soil Conservation District office located at USDA Service Centers.  Applications will be ranked according to criteria that will determine which proposals offer the most wildlife habitat benefits. Sign-up for WHIP funds will end on February 24, 2006.

In FY06, NRCS Maryland received more than $595,704 in 2002 Farm Bill conservation funds to assist Maryland farmers, landowners, and conservation partners in creating wildlife habitat through WHIP.  WHIP provides cost-share reimbursement to landowners that plant grassland habitat or restore riparian buffers, streambanks, and wetlands for wildlife habitat.  WHIP conservation practices restore and manage habitat to benefit game birds, song birds, waterfowl, species of concern, and other wildlife.

Based on Maryland's identified wildlife habitat priorities, conservation practices eligible for WHIP funding in Maryland include:

• Restoration of grassland habitat in field borders and entire fields;
• Restoration of riparian buffers with trees, shrubs, or herbaceous plants;
• Stabilization of streambanks with trees, shrubs, or herbaceous plants;
• Restoration of wetlands, including phragmites control; and,
• Establishment of shallow water areas for wildlife.

To qualify for WHIP, the application must consist of at least one acre of eligible wildlife habitat improvement practices, or at least $300 of WHIP cost-share assistance. Lands already enrolled in other USDA programs such as the Conservation Reserve Program, Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program, and the Wetlands Reserve Program are not eligible for WHIP.

NRCS is USDA’s lead conservation agency and has worked hand-in-hand with farmers and landowners for almost 70 years to conserve natural resources on private lands. Maryland’s landowners can learn more about WHIP and other conservation programs by visiting the NRCS Maryland homepage at www.md.nrcs.usda.gov.