10-13-2007, 05:10 PM
Little Rock, Arkansas - It is a wetlands oasis that draws waterfowl, deer, turkey and other wildlife from miles around. For decades, it frustrated farmers in Pulaski County, Arkansas who struggled to get a crop from its swampy bottoms. Now, the Woodson Joint Venture project is one of the nation's largest Wetlands Reserve Program easements. Its nearly 7,200 acres and involvement of 12 landowners make it a model of success for the popular farm bill conservation program.
The wetlands of the Woodson Joint Venture project are protected forever, but the future of the Wetlands Reserve Program is not so certain. The popular wetlands program officially "died" on September 30 when no new federal farm bill was enacted. It will take almost $2 billion to resurrect it in the next farm bill.
"This program is critical to protecting migration and winter habitat for waterfowl. The program dies if Congress and the president can't produce a new farm bill," said Bart James, director of agriculture conservation policy for Ducks Unlimited.
James says DU wants to make sure funding is available for landowners to continue to enroll 250,000 acres of land each year during the next five years. To date, the Wetlands Reserve Program has permanently protected almost 2 million acres of wetlands nationally.
Americans certainly agree with using taxpayer dollars to restore wetlands in programs like the Wetlands Reserve Program. A recent USA Today unscientific poll showed 79 percent of more than 1,940 respondents favor using tax dollars for wetlands restoration. Only 15 percent disagreed.
Lack of funding for the Wetlands Reserve Program isn't due to a lack of interest. Arkansas landowners want to enroll now. For example, the England Joint Venture, an 18-landowner cooperative project, planned to restore over 11,000 acres of wetlands. However, the Natural Resources Conservation Service currently cannot complete this project because of insufficient funds.
Landowners receive federal funding to convert marginal cropland back to wetlands. The program, administered by the Natural Resources Conservation Service, has conserved over 190,000 acres in Arkansas since 1994.
"In the past we have had years where nearly 30,000 acres were protected or restored through the Wetlands Reserve Program," said Craig Hilburn, Ducks Unlimited director of conservation programs for Arkansas. "We need to voice our support for this program in the next farm bill if we want to continue to see large areas of wetlands conserved in Arkansas and the nation."
Wetlands benefit people by cleaning water, trapping and slowing floodwaters and providing a place for people to hunt, fish and enjoy nature. Just like the Woodson Joint Venture. More than 900 species of wildlife depend on wetlands at some time during their lives.
"The Wetlands Reserve Program is a perfect example of why Ducks Unlimited says 'Farm the best, conserve the rest,'" James said. "Farmers, ranchers and other landowners get paid to put the land back into wetlands."
The Senate is presently working on the new farm bill. To TAKE ACTION and encourage your senators to support conservation go to: http://www.ducks.org/Conservation/FarmBi...?from=home
To read about DU's recent meeting with Senate officials about the farm bill go to: http://www.ducks.org/news/Article1386.aspx
To contact your senators, go to:
http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_in...rs_cfm.cfm
With more than a million supporters, Ducks Unlimited is the world's largest and most effective wetland and waterfowl conservation organization with almost 12 million acres conserved. The United States alone has lost more than half of its original wetlands - nature's most productive ecosystem - and continues to lose more than 80,000 wetland acres each year.
The wetlands of the Woodson Joint Venture project are protected forever, but the future of the Wetlands Reserve Program is not so certain. The popular wetlands program officially "died" on September 30 when no new federal farm bill was enacted. It will take almost $2 billion to resurrect it in the next farm bill.
"This program is critical to protecting migration and winter habitat for waterfowl. The program dies if Congress and the president can't produce a new farm bill," said Bart James, director of agriculture conservation policy for Ducks Unlimited.
James says DU wants to make sure funding is available for landowners to continue to enroll 250,000 acres of land each year during the next five years. To date, the Wetlands Reserve Program has permanently protected almost 2 million acres of wetlands nationally.
Americans certainly agree with using taxpayer dollars to restore wetlands in programs like the Wetlands Reserve Program. A recent USA Today unscientific poll showed 79 percent of more than 1,940 respondents favor using tax dollars for wetlands restoration. Only 15 percent disagreed.
Lack of funding for the Wetlands Reserve Program isn't due to a lack of interest. Arkansas landowners want to enroll now. For example, the England Joint Venture, an 18-landowner cooperative project, planned to restore over 11,000 acres of wetlands. However, the Natural Resources Conservation Service currently cannot complete this project because of insufficient funds.
Landowners receive federal funding to convert marginal cropland back to wetlands. The program, administered by the Natural Resources Conservation Service, has conserved over 190,000 acres in Arkansas since 1994.
"In the past we have had years where nearly 30,000 acres were protected or restored through the Wetlands Reserve Program," said Craig Hilburn, Ducks Unlimited director of conservation programs for Arkansas. "We need to voice our support for this program in the next farm bill if we want to continue to see large areas of wetlands conserved in Arkansas and the nation."
Wetlands benefit people by cleaning water, trapping and slowing floodwaters and providing a place for people to hunt, fish and enjoy nature. Just like the Woodson Joint Venture. More than 900 species of wildlife depend on wetlands at some time during their lives.
"The Wetlands Reserve Program is a perfect example of why Ducks Unlimited says 'Farm the best, conserve the rest,'" James said. "Farmers, ranchers and other landowners get paid to put the land back into wetlands."
The Senate is presently working on the new farm bill. To TAKE ACTION and encourage your senators to support conservation go to: http://www.ducks.org/Conservation/FarmBi...?from=home
To read about DU's recent meeting with Senate officials about the farm bill go to: http://www.ducks.org/news/Article1386.aspx
To contact your senators, go to:
http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_in...rs_cfm.cfm
With more than a million supporters, Ducks Unlimited is the world's largest and most effective wetland and waterfowl conservation organization with almost 12 million acres conserved. The United States alone has lost more than half of its original wetlands - nature's most productive ecosystem - and continues to lose more than 80,000 wetland acres each year.