2005 Illinois State Report

Natural Resources Conservation Activities

NRCS State Office
2118 West Park Court
Champaign, IL 61821
(217) 353-6600
Web Site: www.il.nrcs.usda.gov

Greetings Conservation Friends and Partners!

The success outlined in the following pages was the result of a lot of teamwork, partnerships, and collaboration. Most of all, it was the result of private landowners making important decisions for their operations that impact their land, their county, this state and this great Nation.

I would like to thank all those private landowners, our partners and the people who are concerned about the need to conserve and properly utilize our precious natural resources. I would also thank the NRCS employees in Illinois who give 100% to get the job done and done right.

It surely is an honor and a pleasure to serve as your State Conservationist.

—William J. Gradle, State Conservationist

EQIP

The Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) continues to be an effective conservation tool for addressing resource-related issues on Illinois farms. EQIP is a voluntary, incentive-based program designed to protect soil and water resources on farmland.

In 2005, NRCS funded 978 EQIP contracts on 199,621 acres, providing more than $11.4 million to landowners to implement conservation plans.

Ranking criteria for Illinois for 2005 was again divided into the following categories: Confined Livestock Operations, Grazing Land Operations, and Non-Livestock Related Agricultural Operations. From the $12.6 million total, 60% will help target livestock related applications and 40% to applications not related to livestock. Of the livestock funds, 60% will target confined operations and 40 % will be directed to grazing land operations. New to 2005 was credit for the use of Drainage Water Management practices, which improves water quality where producers receive a $5 an acre incentive for the affected area.

WHIP

The Wildlife Habitat Incentives Program (WHIP) is a voluntary program that assists landowners in enhancing areas that provide needed food and cover for many different species of wildlife.

Photo Caption: NRCS has a valuable partner with the National Willd Turkey Federation. NWTF Biologists assist landowners with WHIP contracts develop plans for habitat development on their land.

In 2005 NRCS applied wildlife habitat improvements with $280,955 in WHIP funds for cost-share on nearly 1,057 acres. There were 43 contracts signed during 2005.   WHIP helps landowners develop habitat plans with tree planting, buffer or native grassland establishment, and wetland or shallow water areas. WHIP continues to be popular among producers and wildlife enthusiasts in Illinois. Partners are pleased with the results WHIP has produced.

Photo Caption: NRCS works to protect and preserve agricultural land and open land in urban and developing communities.

 
WRP

The Wetlands Reserve Program (WRP) is a long-standing and successful program to help landowners restore or improve valuable wetland habitat by purchasing temporary or permanent conservation easements.

In 2005, NRCS distributed $10.1 million in permanent easements to Illinois landowners who offered 4,920 acres into the program.

There were 12 projects completed on 1,678 acres. The remaining 10 easements with 3,242 acres will be acquired by summer 2006.

WRP project in east central Illinois:

<Before Restoration


< After Restoration

FRPP

USDA’s Farm and Ranchland Protection Program is administered by NRCS and is designed to keep working farmland in agricultural production by assisting state and local government and private organizations in acquiring conservation easements on farmland that is at risk of being lost to urban sprawl and development.

In 2005, Illinois NRCS received more than $1.8 million in FRPP funds and obligated those funds to the County of Kane to protect 558 acres of farmland on four Kane County farms under one agreement.

More counties in Illinois should pursue other partners or local units of government who can help them take advantage of these federal funds. Visit www.nrcs.usda.gov/programs for more facts FRPP program goals and requirements.

Soil Survey

NRCS rolled out the new Web Soil Survey site in mid-2005. The site offers public access to the national soils information system—providing valuable soils maps and related data to help producers, conservationists, city planners and others make informed land use decisions. NRCS showcased the web site during the Farm Progress Show in Decatur, IL. Visitors were able to view their farm soil surveys on-line. NRCS Soil scientists were encouraged by the positive comments and interest in the new technology. They also made available to visitors CD’s of soil reports, a CD that explains soil properties, as well as many posters and other educational products.

RC&D

The budget for RC&D was level in 2005. For a program that is already under funded, that is not good news. As a result, for the second year in a row, no new RC&D areas were authorized for funding. Illinois still has three application areas waiting to be considered for authorization by USDA. These three areas (Lower Sangamon, Illini Valley, and Heartland) continue to adopt new projects and remain active on a volunteer level. There is also interest in forming a new area in the Northeast portion of the state.

A level budget coupled with the Cochran Law (S 2856) gave rise to the need for our 10 authorized RC&D areas to become more vigilant in support of mainstream NRCS conservation programs. RC&D has always provided support to field offices but 2005 focused on providing assistance to specific program activities outside of the RC&D umbrella and on ensuring those activities generated deliverables for other program areas.

Examples of some of these efforts include: assisting area offices with EQIP payment processing, spreading the word about CSP, and holding training workshops for Technical Service Providers.

In addition to working outside the RC&D program, our RC&D staffs continued to work on long-standing projects and initiate new projects that promote conservation and economic development. Examples of some of these creative activities include facilitating the installation of methane digesters to utilize animal waste for power generation and organizing community donations to hurricane ravaged areas with the “Operation Pack the Bus” project. The RC&D Councils are adapting to the changing business climate by updating their area plans to include new national program objectives and input from local sources as well.

‘05 Successes

NRCS specialists have been busy and have developed, designed, and installed a great deal of science-based conservation that is now working to protect and preserve Illinois’ valuable natural resources.

CSP

The 2005 CSP sign-up included the newly selected watersheds – the Lower Kaskaskia Watershed located in the west central portion of the state and the Wabash-Busseron Watershed shared with Indiana. Secretary of Agriculture, Mike Johanns announced the 2004 Watersheds would also be eligible again if they had not been selected to participate the previous year.

In all, 466 contracts totaling $4,052,962 were signed in the three watersheds. Number of contracts:
Tier I = 167
Tier II = 278
Tier III = 21

For 2006, the Upper Sangamon River Watershed in central Illinois has been selected for CSP sign up. The sign up runs February 13 - March 31, 2006. NRCS is already scheduling public meetings to help
landowners apply.

<Photo Caption: A Kaskaskia River Watershed CSP participant displays her CSP sign, which is now proudly displayed on her property.

GRP

NRCS provided cost-share funds and technical assistance through the Grazing Lands Conservation Initiative (GLCI) to improve pastureland, grazing and forage products for optimum health and production of livestock.

In 2005, two rental agreements were obligated. NRCS is gathering data and appraising these 185 acres for the easement process. Estimated dollar amount for these easements is $650,000.

Funding for GRP in 2006 is not available for additional agreements or easements.

TSP

An additional 48 Technical Service Providers (TSP) signed on to work with Illinois producers during 2005. Illinois leads the nation in the number of registered TSP’s with over 320. Many of these TSP’s work with confinement livestock producers to develop Comprehensive Nutrient Management Plans (CNMP).

These plans document those livestock producers that already have sufficient manure holding capacity and waste spreading plans. For other livestock producers, the CNMP will provide planning guidance to comply with Illinois state livestock waste guidelines and regulations. These TSP’s provide valuable assistance to Illinois livestock producers and NRCS in protecting Illinois land, air, and water.

Photo Caption: TSPs help Illinois landowners and NRCS meet their conservation goals.

Bookmark NRCS on your computer—it’s the best place for good advice, good data, and good news!
www.il.nrcs.usda.gov

February 2006

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