2006 Illinois State Report

Natural Resources Conservation Activities

January 2007

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 pages that follow detail the many accomplishments Illinois NRCS has made over the past year. In addition to putting a great deal of conservation solutions on the ground, during fiscal year 2006, our agency also unveiled a national Strategic Plan. This plan describes the long-term goals of the NRCS, the objectives we will help people achieve by 2010, and the strategies we adopt to ensure our efforts are effective. I think you’ll see how our programs and activities and the issues and needs of our clients fit into the structure of the strategic plan.

Our primary customers are farmers and ranchers, people who own, operate, or live on farms and ranches; other members of the private sector who support production agriculture and natural resource conservation; governments and units of government with responsibility for natural resource use and management; and non-profit organizations whose mission aligns with aspects of natural resource management.

For the period of this strategic plan, we have defined three general strategies. In the next 5 years, we will:

• Seek and promote cooperative efforts to achieve conservation goals.
• Provide information and assistance to encourage and enable locally led, watershed-scale conservation.
• Facilitate the growth of market-based opportunities that encourage business and industry to invest in conservation on private lands.

The Mission Goals we support include:

• High Quality, Productive Soils to enable sustained production of a safe, healthy, and abundant food supply.
• Clean and Abundant Water to protect human health, support a healthy environment, encourage a productive landscape, and ensure an abundant and reliable supply.
• Healthy Plant and Animal Communities to provide habitats for diverse and healthy wildlife, aquatic species, protect water quality and reduce flood damage.
• Clean Air to make a positive contribution to local air quality and to the Nation’s effort to sequester carbon.
• Adequate Energy to conserve energy and be a source of environmentally sustainable biofuels and renewable energy.
• Working Farm and Ranchlands to sustain a viable agricultural sector and natural resource quality.

My staff and I here at the Illinois NRCS are eager to address the issues and goals outlined in the Strategic Plan. If you are interested in learning more about the elements of the plan or about our conservation programs, feel free to visit our website or contact your local NRCS Field Office.


William J. Gradle, State Conservationist

Another Good Year

NRCS in Illinois worked hard in fiscal year 2006, delivering a multitude of technical services and information to private landowners in search of conservation solutions. NRCS is able to provide cost-share funds that help farmers cover the expenses needed to design, construct, and install time-tested conservation practices. NRCS Conservation Operations funds make it possible for technically trained NRCS staff to offer guidance, counsel, and hands-on technical help for conservation-minded landowners. “NRCS employees take pride in the one-on-one assistance they give clients in their county,” says Bill Gradle, NRCS Illinois State Conservationist. “Our staff work to protect natural resources on Illinois’ private lands. They work with clients, determine their goals and objectives for the land, and help devise comprehensive plans designed to support the landowners needs and the needs of the land,” explains Gradle.

EQIP
New contracts: 438
Acres: 71,483
Cost-share: $13.4 million

Special incentives were offered to encourage ready and willing landowners to implement and install planned EQIP practices within a two year period. Special funds were targeted at Cedar Creek watershed, a subwatershed of the Illinois River Watershed. These funds were combined with funds from IDNR, bringing $1 million to local landowners in need of streambank erosion solutions.

Special incentive funds were offered to help EQIP contract holders address rising prices of conservation solution materials. This incentive targeted contracts established 1997-2004. To help landowners managing grazing land, NRCS and partners coordinated a series of Grazing Workshops held across the state. The sessions helped grazers manage their operation

FRPP
New contracts: 1
Acres: 501
Cost-share: $1.75 million

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.

WRP
Easements: 18
Acres: 4,161
Cost-share: $8.8 million

A total of 956 acres of wetlands were created, 2,570 acres were enhanced, and 10,458 will be restored. The big success story for 2006 was finalizing paperwork and payment on the Emiquon Wetland project in Fulton County. The landowner, The Nature Conservancy, is ready to begin planning and working on this 6,400 acre project, the second largest wetland easement project in the United States. The Emiquon is #2, to Florida’s Everglades. Planning is underway with The Emiquon, which will no doubt become a haven for wildlife, a popular spot for nature enthusiasts, and will help improve water quality in the Illinois River.

WHIP
New contracts: 47
Acres: 1,689
Cost-share: $312,000

A total of 127, 960 acres were improved for wildlife, 119, 626 were upland acres. 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.

CSP
New contracts: 65
Acres: 37,095
Reward payments: $710,759
Enhancements: $702,853
Where: Upper Sangamon River

Tier Breakdown:
Tier I = 0
Tier II = 60
Tier III = 5

The Conservation Security Program (CSP) is designed to recognize and reward true stewards of the land. CSP identities the “best of the best” -- conservationists who have demonstrated a lasting commitment to soil and water conservation on their land.

Mclean County CSP participant is glad the program
recognizes and assists conservation-minded farmers.
 

RC&D
Resource Conservation & Development

In 2006, RC&D efforts helped to create 54 new local businesses and 249 new jobs. Wildlife habitat improvements were established on 26,223 acres of RC&D projects.

NRCS Illinois’ 10 authorized RC&D areas became more vigilant in support of mainstream NRCS conservation programs in 2006. RC&D has always provided support to NRCS Field Offices but provided more assistance to specific program activities outside of the RC&D umbrella, ensuring those activities generated deliverables for other program areas. RC&D staff assisted Area Offices with EQIP payment processing, distributed information about the Conservation Security Program (CSP), and coordinated workshops and training initiatives.

Three RC&D areas remain unauthorized and have not yet been approved for federal funding, however they continue to operate and make progress on important local projects and goals.

The existence of an RC&D area is still being considered for northeastern Illinois, although no firm plans have been made.

Soil Survey

NRCS’ Web Soil Survey has been operating since 2005 and continues to grow in popularity. More and more individuals, corporations, companies, cities, and local units of government find the soils information and baseline information invaluable for planning. Just google Web Soil Survey and check it out!

Accessing soil survey information through the internet is handy, and for this reason NRCS in Illinois continues to update soil survey data. While this is immediate and convenient, many users prefer and need to have their own CD with data on it.

During 2006, nine Illinois county soil surveys were updated and provided on CD rom. These new surveys cover 2.9 million acres. Digital soil survey data covering 12.3 million acres was provided for 35 counties using digitized SSURGO data.

More new updates for Illinois county soil survey will be completed and provided on CDs in 2007.

Conservation Planning On the Rise

Now more than ever, it is critical that NRCS clients have an up-to-date and comprehensive conservation plan for their operation. Having the plan does not commit landowners to any practice or program, but will help identify their natural resource issues and needs and position them for new and existing NRCS cost-share or incentive programs. Having a conservation plan helps provide a strategic way to address problem areas on farms and gives landowners a plan to follow for years to come. NRCS staff are always available to help Illinois landowners who request a Resource Management Plan for their operation.

Online Tools

The Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) is providing more information and helpful tools via the internet and the NRCS website. As more NRCS clients use computer technology and digital information to manage their operations, NRCS strives to provide valuable information and data they can use. Release of NRCS’ Web Soil Survey in 2005 met huge demands for quick, electronic data, demonstrating how quickly our client base is adapting to 21st Century technology.

In 2006, NRCS developed four energy tools designed to increase energy awareness in agriculture and to help farmers and ranchers identify where they can reduce energy costs. The results generated by these tools are estimates based on NRCS models and are illustrative of the magnitude of savings. For specific assistance, please contact your local NRCS office.

For online tools to estimate savings on tillage, irrigation, nitrogen and animal housing energy, visit the Energy Estimator site at:
http://energytools.sc.egov.usda.gov/

‘06 Successes

NRCS specialists have developed, designed, and installed science-based conservation that protects and preserves Illinois’ valuable natural resources.

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

USDA-NRCS is an equal opportunity provider and employer.

The following document is available to download in Adobe Acrobat Reader 6.0 or higher format.

The 2006 Illinois State Report
FY06AnnualRpt.pdf (PDF, 2.63 MB)

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