Laserfiche WebLink
<br />l\:l <br />W <br />o <br />t- <br /> <br />Replacement of habitat acres began in 1978. Since then, there have been <br />two separate types of USDA Programs involved in the replacement effort. <br /> <br />The first program was. GVSP. It ran from approximately 1978 to 1987 and <br />was funded through ACP. Landowners could request annual cost sharing <br />for installation of a single practice or they could enter into a Long <br />Term Agreement (LTA) which could span up to ten years. <br /> <br />The present CRSC program began in 1987 when Congress passed PL 98-569. <br />Under this authority landowners could enter into a contract for a term <br />of 3 to 10 years and receive a maximum of $100,000 cost share. From <br />1987 to 1990, the two cost-share programs ran concurrently because the <br />law did not allow a transfer of funds from one program to the other. <br />Today the GVSP plans have been completed or have been terminated. <br /> <br />A meeting was held in Grand Junction on March 12, 1992 with <br />representatives from BOR, USFWS and USDA. As a result of this meeting, <br />it was agreed that the upland (645) and wetland (644) habitat installed <br />under the GVSP and GVSP/LTA programs will be accepted in total as <br />habitat replacement acres.' <br /> <br />In order to write CRSC contracts with continuity, the GJFO developed <br />"The Wildlife-Wetland Planning Guide". since 1992, the contracts have <br />contained consistent upland-wetland conservation practice narratives. <br /> <br />CRSC contracts issued prior to 1991 contained wildlife habitat acres <br />planned and benefited. These contracts have been reviewed and the acres <br />benefited have been removed. The review was completed in December 1992. <br />The adjusted figures were entered into the Wetland and Wildlife Tracking <br />system. <br /> <br />NRCS and BOR are confident that, with the CRSC Contract system, the goal <br />of mitigated acres can be obtained. Discussions dating back to November <br />of 1991 indicate BOR has sufficient authority to replace a portion of <br />wildlife habitat losses resulting from the USDA salinity contract <br />program in the Grand Valley. <br /> <br />On December 7, 1993, BOR received the authority to proceed to partially <br />offset USDA's wildlife'habitat replacement responsibility by purchasing <br />approximately 400 acres of mitigated land to bring habitat replacement <br />coricurrent with salinity reduction practices. This reduces USDA's <br />obligation from 1200 acres to 800 acres. <br /> <br />In 1990, conversations were held with the COC concerning the low number <br />of contracts that contained wildlife practices applied. Landowners who <br />desired to install primarily wildlife practices were consistently at the <br />bottom of the COC's annual priority list. The CRSC handbook requires <br />contract planning be performed according to the established priority <br />list. USDA had been unable to complete all the applications on the <br />priority list within the planning year. <br /> <br />In 1991, the COC agreed to rectify the situation by creating two <br />priority lists. One list for irrigation improvements and one list for <br />wildlife improvements. A single question was added to the eligibility <br />questionnaire. It determines the landowners main interest and places <br />him on the correct priority list. The COC began setting aside $100,000 <br />specifically for development of wildlife contracts. <br /> <br />24 <br />