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SC NRCS Requests Applications for 2009 Wetlands Reserve Program Funding

 

Columbia, SC. – (September 27, 2007)--Landowners in South Carolina with qualifying land acreage are encouraged to apply for 2009 technical and funding assistance available through the Wetlands Reserve Program (WRP). WRP is a voluntary program offering landowners the opportunity to protect, restore, and enhance wetlands on their property. The deadline to apply for 2009 assistance is November 2, 2007.

WRP is administered by the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS). Funds are allocated annually to purchase easements and restore wetlands on qualifying lands. To be eligible for WRP, land must be restorable and suitable for wildlife benefits. This includes:

  • Farmed Wetlands
  • Farmland that has become a wetland as a result of flooding
  • Rangeland, pasture, or hayland with wetland soils

 Landowners can choose from three options:

  • Restoration agreement, which pays 75 percent of the cost of restoring the wetland by planting trees and adding shallow water
  • 30-year easement, which pays the landowner 75 percent of the per acre value of the easement plus 75 percent cost-share
  • Permanent easement, which pays the landowner 100 percent of the easement value and 100 percent of the cost of restoring the area

Restoring, protecting, and enhancing the functions and values of wetland ecosystems remain the focus of WRP in South Carolina. By placing agricultural lands into WRP, the landowner provides resting and foraging habitat for migratory waterfowl, songbirds, shorebirds, wading birds and other wetland species. The NRCS in South Carolina takes great pride in contributing to the many species of water birds observed on WRP lands. WRP assistance is based on the potential benefit which the public may realize from wetland protection and restoration—projects and lands with the greatest wetland values are given the highest priority. Generally, agricultural lands containing restorable wetlands are eligible for funding, although forested lands are only eligible for participation in WRP if they are not enrolled in Conservation Reserve Program (CRP).

 

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