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<br />Watershed Protections <br />Miscellaneous . <br />Land Retirement Programs ' <br />Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) <br />Offers annual rental payments and cost-share assistance to farmers to establish <br />long-term conserving covers <br />Maximum acreage increased to 39.2 million acres (up from 36.4 million in 1996 <br />Farm Bill) , . <br />Many Colorado counties are already at maximum acreage <br />CRP continuous sign-up <br />Land in riparian buffers, filter strips, grass waterways, and other high-priority <br />practices without competition. <br />Conservation ReserVe Enhancement Program <br />Joint state-federal program that targets spe!:ific agriculture-related <br />environmental issues that are significant at state or federal issue <br />Wetlands Reserve Program (WRP) <br />Allows Secretary of Agriculture to purchase easements to restore/conserve <br />wetlands <br /> <br />Working Lands Programs <br />Environmental Quality Incentive Programs (iEQIP) <br />Provides technical assistance, cost-share payments and incentive payments to <br />assist crop and livestock producers with environmental and conservation <br />improvements on the farm <br />FY '02: $400 million; FY '03: $700 million;FY '04: $1 billion; . <br />FY '05-'06: $1.2 billio'n;FY '07: $1.3 billion <br />Continues 75% cost sharing, but allows 90% cost-share rate if producer is <br />"limited-resource" or beginning farmer or rqncher <br />Livestock producers are targeted to receive 60% of annual funding (up from 50% <br />in 1996 Farm Bill) . <br />Recipients must prepare conservation plan stating intended practices and <br />describing environmental purposes <br />CAFOs must prepare a comprehensive nutrient management plan (CNMP) <br />Contract lengths are now one to ten years (in 1996 Farm Bill,they were five to <br />ten years) <br />No annual payment limitations -- sum of ali EQIP payments to an individual or <br />entity cannot exceed $450,000 during FY 0~-07 (in 1996 Farm Bill, producer <br />payments limited to $10,000 per year or $~O,OOO for any multi-year contract) <br />EQIP: New Provisions <br />Conservation Innovation Grants <br />". . .[U]sed to provide grants to stimulate innovative approaches to leverage <br />Federal investment in environmental enhancement and protection." <br />Awarded on competitive basis <br />Government and nongovernment organiza~ions are eligible for funds <br />Federal share of project is capped at 50%.. <br />Examples of programs: market-based pollytion credit trading, BMPs, carbon <br />sequestration ... <br />Ground and surface water conservation <br />Cost share for more efficient irrigation systems <br />Annual funding levels: <br /> <br />51 <br />