Number: 2000-15
WHEREAS, a majority of the American landscape is privately owned and it is the responsibility of all Americans to be good stewards of the land for the benefit of future generations and the environment; and
WHEREAS, farmers are important stewards of the land and water; and
WHEREAS, conservation of our land and water benefits all Americans by insuring the future quality of available food and water; and
WHEREAS, the Farm Safety Net of federal cost share incentive programs for private agricultural lands encourages use of the best management practices that benefit the environment; and
WHEREAS, the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) provides annual payments to landowners who voluntarily retire qualifying lands from agricultural production for 10 or 15 years; and
WHEREAS, the voluntary incentive programs, such as CRP, must continue to encourage and insure that the best management practices are retained to stem erosion, and to control pesticide and nutrient run off; and
WHEREAS, continuous CRP sign ups provide for environmentally sensitive lands and lands that contribute to water quality improvement such as riparian buffers and filter strips around wetlands; and
WHEREAS, wetlands provide wildlife habitat, clean water and flood protection; and
WHEREAS, one major obstacle to participation in filter strip and buffer programs is that present USDA rules allow enrollment of a buffer or filter strip around a wetland, but have no provision for including the wetland acreage within the buffer or filter strip to be enrolled for payment; and
WHEREAS, conservation of farmland adheres to the principles of “smart growth” by slowing expensive urban sprawl while providing food, fiber, clean water, recreational opportunities and scenic beauty; and
WHEREAS, the 1997 Natural Resources Conservation Service’s Natural Resources Inventory indicates that between 1992-1997 more agricultural land was converted to urban uses than in the previous 10 years and nearly 16 million acres were developed, more than double the rate in 1982-1992; and
WHEREAS, pasture and range land provide vegetation for livestock and wildlife while enhancing habitat areas and scenic beauty; and
WHEREAS, the Farmland Protection Program (FPP) is part of the President’s proposed Land Legacy Initiative and provides matching funds to state, local and tribal governments to protect farmland threatened by urban and suburban sprawl; and
WHEREAS, federal conservation incentive programs provide financial and technical assistance to farmers and such programs benefit citizens and wildlife by insuring a healthier environment in the future; and
WHEREAS, some farmers have chosen not to participate in these federal conservation incentive programs for reasons that include high input (up-front) costs and certain rules and provisions that prove impractical to implement;
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the National Wildlife Federation in its Annual Meeting assembled March 16-18, 2000, in Seattle, Washington, supports in concept the Conservation Initiatives in the 2001 Farm Safety Net Proposal as a continuation and enhancement of existing and successful farmland protection programs; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the National Wildlife Federation supports continuation of the Wetlands Reserve Program, Conservation Reserve Program, Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program, Farmland Protection Program, and Wildlife Habitat Incentives Program that have demonstrated their long-term conservation value; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the National Wildlife Federation supports other programs, such as the Environment Quality Incentives Program and the Stewardship Incentive Program for forestland owners, that have encouraged the implementation of conservation practices that foster the maintenance and growth of a healthy environmental system; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the National Wildlife Federation supports the reduction and/or elimination of farmer input costs and the modification of certain restrictive provisions of some federal conservation incentive programs in order to expand farmer participation in programs of high value to the environment and wildlife, provided that this resolve does not promote elimination of program provisions that reward or give priority to farmers who are willing to invest their own money in conservation practices under these programs; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the National Wildlife Federation supports the appropriate funding of the Natural Resources Conservation Service to fully implement these programs and to provide the necessary technical assistance; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the National Wildlife Federation supports changes to make the wetland protection measures of the continuous sign up of CRP wetland buffer and filter strips more effective and encourages the USDA to insure that frequently farmed wetlands, with adequate rates to reflect their high conservation values, are included in the continuous sign up CRP program along with payments for the surrounding filter strip or buffer; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the National Wildlife Federation further recommends that the USDA modify its CRP specifications to encourage the maximum width for filter strips around wetlands and buffer strips along riparian areas, in order to encourage voluntary CRP sign ups, enhance wetland and riparian habitat functions, and to make the CRP specifications more compatible with today’s more intensive farming practices.