(Seattle, WA) – Today, U.S. Senator Patty Murray announced that U.S.
Department of Agriculture has approved an additional 25,000 acres for Douglas
County farmers under the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) initiative called
“State Acres for Wildlife Enhancement,” (“SAFE”). This is another
victory for Douglas County farmers who will be provided continuing assistance
to keep environmentally sensitive cropland in approved vegetative cover.
Senator Murray has worked closely with the U.S Department of Agriculture and
Obama Administration and has fought for the necessary legislative changes to
help Douglas County farmers extend their contracts to continue using those
croplands. In May, Senator Murray announced the Department of Agriculture
approved 38,000 acres for conservation efforts.
“I’ve been a long-standing supporter of
allowing local farmers to continue their work preserving land, so when farmers
in Douglas County came to me for help, I went to work,” said Senator Murray.
“I pushed the Department of Agriculture to move quickly to approve additional
acres in the SAFE program and I’m very pleased that Secretary Vilsack
recognized the outstanding conservation efforts being carried out by Douglas
County farmers and approved this request.”
“Through cooperative efforts like the SAFE initiative, farmers and
ranchers can play a key role in protecting wildlife that may be threatened or
endangered,” said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack. “These
additional ‘SAFE acres’ will provide new opportunities for state and regional
agencies, non-profit organizations, farm groups and other conservation partners
to work with farmers and ranchers to restore wildlife habitats and conserve
rare species before they have to be listed under the Endangered Species Act.”
The SAFE program functions as a continuous sign-up CRP program which
encourages farmers to convert environmentally sensitive cropland to approved
vegetative cover. SAFE also provides habitat to species of concern by
cost-sharing the establishment of approved covers and making annual rental
payments for taking that land out of production for 10 – 15 years.
The CRP program currently limits county enrollment of acreage to 25 percent
of eligible cropland. Douglas County has in the past exceeded this limit and
has in the past received waivers from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Farm
Service Agency. Senator Murray fought to include language in the 2008
Farm Bill allowing continuous signup CRP programs, such as SAFE, to exceed the
limits on how many acres could be enrolled in the program.
These acres will be allocated to a new SAFE project in Douglas County for
sage-grouse and sharp-tailed grouse. The sage-grouse is currently a candidate
for listing under the Endangered Species Act, and the sharp-tailed grouse is a
species of concern. By designating the 25,000 acres to Douglas County,
producers will be able to continue to voluntarily preserve and restore important
habitat and provide additional benefits for grouse. Research conducted in
Douglas County shows that the sage-grouse population relies on private lands
and that over half of grouse nesting activity occurs on land currently enrolled
in the CRP program. Many sharp-tailed grouse breeding and nesting activities
also occur on CRP land.
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