6-14 IAN NRCS Grazing Protection

 Landowners seeking to protect or restore grazing lands in southern Idaho can get help from the U. S. Department of Agriculture’s Grassland Reserve Program (GRP).  USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) and Farm Service Agency (FSA) jointly administer this program which protects working grazing lands from conversion to other uses. The funding available for this sign up period is for conservation easements only; applications will be taken through June 18, 2010.

“The Grassland Reserve Program helps protect valuable grasslands from being converted to other land uses,” said Jeff Burwell, NRCS Idaho State Conservationist. “Through this program, landowners enroll acres in a conservation easement to help maintain and restore the grassland on their property.” Burwell: “It’s an easement that can be done through a rental agreement or a perpetual easement. Landowners have an option which is the beauty of it. So if you have a landowner with estate issues he hasn’t resolved, if they go with the rental agreement, that gives them more time to work all those issues out.”

“For the land to be eligible, grazing must be the predominant use whether its grassland, rangeland, pastureland or shrubland,” added Burwell. “All program participants are required to implement a grazing management plan approved by NRCS.”