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NRCS Showcases Wildlife Habitat Enhancement Practices
project coordinators from the research center and NRCS
conservationists survey WHIP plantings at the demonstration site |
In Darlington County, South Carolina, numerous wildlife species are getting
first-class treatment at Clemson University’s Pee Dee Research and Education
Center. The NRCS Wildlife Habitat Incentives Program (WHIP) is providing
financial and technical assistance to establish habitat enhancements as
demonstration and research sites. The project consists of illustrating and
evaluating WHIP and other USDA conservation practices for wildlife including
agricultural filter strips, hedgerow plantings, field borders, native warm
season grasses, forest stand improvements, forest openings, riparian forest
buffers, and prescribed burning. The project – a collaboration of efforts by
numerous local, State, and Federal agencies to illustrate integrated land
management for wildlife, agriculture, and forestry in an environmentally sound
and sustainable manner –is enhanced by signage which explains to viewers the
purpose of each practice area. It will target a wide audience including farmers
and landowners as well as school children and the general public.
Pee Dee Research and Education Center Director George Askew spearheaded the
project by calling for the establishment of a wildlife habitat demonstration
site. “This project is a big step in changing some negative ideas about
providing food and shelter for wildlife alongside farming practices,” he said.
Your contact Amy O. Maxwell, NRCS public affairs specialist, at 803-765-5402, or
amy.maxwell@sc.usda.gov.
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