Environmental Quality Incentives Program in the Plum Creek Watershed, Pepin and Pierce counties, Wisconsin

6 Pages·1998·0.24 MB·English

by  United States. Natural Resources Conservation Service

Historic, Archive Document
Do not assume content reflects current
scientific knowledge, policies, or practices.
What EQIP?
is
TheEnvironmentalQualityIncentivesProgram
(EQIP) is anew voluntary USDA program to
help farmers establish conservationpractices to
protect soil, water and othernatural resources.
EQIP focuses technical, educational and
financial assistance primarilyto farms in
locally-identifiedpriority areas. Italso offers
assistance statewide forsignificant
conservationconcerns.
EQIP offers farmers costsharing andtechnical
help to install orimplement structural,
vegetative,andmanagementpracticesthrough
5- to 10-year contracts.
OtherUSDA programs, such as the
Conservation Reserve Program, and state and
local programsprovide additional tools for
producers to care for our private lands - a
sharedcommitmentbetweenpublicandprivate
interests to solve ournatural resource
concerns.
What Types of
Conservation Practices
Are Eligible?
Landowners work with localNRCS orcounty
landconservationiststodevelop 5-10 year
contractsproviding costsharing, and forsome
practices, incentivepaymentsaswell.
• grassedwaterways
• filter orbuffer strips
• manure management practices
• sealing abandoned wells
• erosion control dams
• barnyardrunoffcontrol systems
• streambankprotectionpractices
• many more structural and management
practices
Payments
Landowners can be reimbursed forup to 75%
ofthe costofthepracticesneeded. Incentive
payments maybe made to encourage a
producerto trycertain landmanagement
practices such as nutrientmanagement, manure
management,integratedpestmanagement,and
wildlifehabitatmanagement.Theseincentive
payments maybeprovided forup to three
years to encourage producers to try farm
managementpracticestheymaynototherwise
usewithouttheprogramincentive.
Maximumpayment is $10,000 perperson per
year, with a $50,000 maximum forthe life of
the contract.
Who
is Eligible?
Anypersonwhoproduces agricultural
commodities,includinglivestock,crops,
orchards, pasture orotherproducts, and who
ownsorcontrolsthe land, is eligible to
participate.
Any landthat is used to produce agricultural
commodities, such as cropland, pasture, forest
orotherlandonwhich crops orlivestock are
produced,iseligible.
Largeconfinedlivestockoperations (>1,000
animalunits) arenoteligible forcost-sharing
onanimal waste storage ortreatment facilities.
However, technical and financial assistance for
otherresource issues maybe available.
Plum Creek Watershed
ThePlum Creek Watershed in Pepin and
Pierce Counties is one of21 watersheds
selected this year as an EQIP priority area in
Wisconsin. The Plum Creek EQIP Project
will be funded at $1.1 million over five
years starting in 1998.
Why
Participate?
Landowners in Pepin and Pierce Counties
have expressed concerns about water
quality, pollution ofthe Plum Creek, Nugget
Lake, Silver Birch Lake, wetland protection,
manure management, pesticides getting into
water systems, erosion, the importance of
protecting our drinking water, and
improving wildlife habitat. This project
gives you, the landowner, the opportunity to
address these concerns on your land. The
success ofthis program is in your hands, as
the landowners ofthe Plum Creek
Watershed.
What Our Goal?
is
Theoverall goal is to reduce the sediment
andnutrients flowinginto all receiving
waters in the Plum Creek Watershed. This
will improve our water quality and habitat
for fish and wildlife.
ing the Resources,
sing the Future.
Need More
Information?
What types ofconservation practices are you
interested in implementing? Contactthe
USDA
Service Center:
Natural Resources Conservation Service
or the Land Conservation Department
Pepin County Pierce County
Durand, Wisconsin Ellsworth, Wisconsin
[phone] [phone]
TheU.S. DepartmentofAgriculture(USDA)prohibits
discrimination inall itsprogramsandactivitiesonthebasis
ofrace,color,nationalorigin,gender,religion,age,
disability,politicalbeliefs,sexualorientation,andmaritalor
familystatus.(Notallprohibitedbasesapplytoallpro-
grams.)Personswithdisabilitieswhorequirealternative
meansforcommunicationofprogram information(Braille,
largeprint,audiotape,etc.)shouldcontactUSDA’s
TARGETCenterat202-720-2600(voiceandTDD).
Tofileacomplaintofdiscrimination,writeUSDA,Director,
OfficeofCivil Rights,Room326W,Whitten Building, 14th
and IndependenceAvenue,SW,Washington,DC20250-
9410orcall(202)720-5964(voiceorTDD). USDA isan
equalopportunityproviderandemployer.
U.S. Department ofAgriculture Wisconsin
Natural Resources Conservation Service 1998
NATIONAL AGRICULTURAL LIRRARY
U.S.
Natural
Department
Resources
of
ConservationAgriculture
Service