2008 Conservation Security Program

Updated 06/23/2008

A sign-up for the Conservation Security Program (CSP) will be held April 18 to May 16, 2008 for producers in the Lower Snake-Tucannon watershed in southeast Washington, USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service announced today. NRCS estimates some 500 farms, covering more than 600,000 acres are within that watershed, which covers parts of Walla Walla, Asotin, Garfield, Columbia and Whitman counties.

CSP is a voluntary conservation program that supports ongoing stewardship of private, agricultural working lands and rewards those producers who are meeting the highest standards of conservation and environmental management on their operations.

The sign-up announcement and specific program requirements are being published in the Federal Register. In addition, NRCS will be conducting meetings in the watershed to provide additional information and answer questions about the program. The times, dates and locations of meetings will be posted, on this webpage, as soon as those meetings are scheduled, and producers can check their local NRCS offices for meeting information, as well.

Payments can include three components: 1) an annual stewardship component for the base level of conservation treatment; 2) an annual component for maintenance of existing conservation practices; and 3) an enhancement component for exceptional conservation effort. Enhancement activities could include limited pesticide applications, renewable energy generation, and widening existing riparian forest buffers for restoring critical stream habitat.

Lower Snake- -Tucannon Watershed CSP Sign-up Information

General information and descriptions of the Lower Snake-Tucannon watershed.

 CSP public meeting dates, times, and locations.

The following documents require Adobe Acrobat Reader or Microsoft Excel.

Use this link for a detailed map outlining the Lower Snake-Tucannon Watershed boundary. (PDF; 224 KB)   

To apply for CSP, NRCS asks potential participants to complete a CSP self-assessment workbook – available on the web or from local NRCS offices – to find out if their operation meets the requirements of the program and qualifies for program participation. The self-assessment process is completed using a self-screening questionnaire for each land use to be enrolled. When this process is completed, the producer submits the CSP workbook to the local NRCS office during the sign-up period and meets with NRCS personnel to go over any additional needed documentation. NRCS will then determine if eligibility requirements are met and provide options for the producer’s decision on enrollment category placement.

Washington State 2008 CSP Materials Available for Downloading  

USDA Service Center offices in the selected watershed have CSP Self-Assessment Workbooks available for your use.  These workbooks will also be available at the local informational meetings. Producers should complete workbook(s) for each landuse in their operation prior to the initial eligibility interview.  These workbooks should be completed with as much information as possible. The information you provide in the workbooks will be used to determine program eligibility.

All publications have been make available in a .PDF format.  Alternative text is not available for these publications as they can not be depicted in a narrative format. We apologize for any inconvenience.

Many of these files are relatively large files and may take a while to download.  The best way to view them is to right mouse click on the file name and select “Save Target As” to copy the file to your computer before trying to open it.

Self-Assessment Workbooks

    CSP Self-Assessment Workbook    (PDF; 2.71 MB)
    Farmstead, Headquarters or Livestock Feeding Self-Assessment and Recordkeeping Workbook    (PDF; 3.2 MB)

    Optional
    Record Keeping Workbook    (PDF; 7.0 MB)
   
  
Forms and Application Guidance Documents   

    Control of Land Certification by Owner    (PDF; 254 KB)
    Delineating an Agricultural Operation    (PDF; 623 KB)

"Enhancement Activities" refer to actions that provide resource benefits beyond the level prescribed by NRCS Conservation Practice Standards.  Once implemented, enhancement activities should result in an observable or measurable improvement to the condition of one or more of the soil, water, air, plant, or animal resources, or provide for more efficient resource utilization and/or energy conservation.

   Air Quality
    Agricultural Odor Activity Sheet   (PDF; 59 KB)
    Particulate Matter Activity Sheet   (PDF; 49 KB)
    Ozone Precursors Activity Sheet   (PDF; 62 KB)

    Energy
    Energy Audit of Agricultural Operations Activity Sheet  (PDF; 33 KB)
    Recycle 100% of Waste Lubricants On Farm Activity Sheet  (PDF 34 KB)
    Renewable Energy Generation Activity Sheet  (PDF; 34 KB)

    Grazing Lands
    Grazing Management Activity   (PDF; 57 KB)
    Monitoring Activity   (PDF; 394 KB)     

    Plants
    Cropped Woodland Improvement Activity  (PDF; 25 KB)

    Soil Quality
    Compaction Avoidance Through Controlled Traffic Activity    (PDF; 70 KB) 
    Soil Conditioning Thresholds Activity    (PDF; 38 KB)  

    Water Management
    Drainage Water Management Activity   (PDF; 33 KB) 
    Field Poly Tubing and Drip Tape Recycling Activity   (PDF; 25 KB)
    Irrigation Management Activity   (PDF; 40 KB)
    Reduction of Evaporative Losses Activity   (PDF; 32 KB)
    Remote Monitoring of Irrigation Pumping Plant Activity   (PDF; 23 KB)
    Salinity Management Activity   (PDF; 35 KB)

    Water Quality
     Nutrient Management Activity   (PDF; 105 KB)
     Pesticide Management Activity   (PDF; 68 KB)

    Wildlife
     Pollinators Areas Activity   (PDF; 31 KB)
     Riparian Zones Management Activity   (PDF; 35 KB)
     Shallow Water Habitat Management Activity   (PDF; 38 KB)
     Wildlife-Water Quality, Widen Buffers Activity   (PDF; 40 KB)
     Wildlife Friendly Haying Management Activity   (PDF; 22 KB)

 Certification sheets for companion enhancement activities listed above.


Additional information on CSP, including eligible watersheds and a CSP self-assessment workbook is available at http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/programs/csp.

General Information Brochures outlining CSP

Get Ready.  Get Set.  & Get in CSP! Conservation Security Program (CSP) brochure Tips to help Washington’s agricultural producers...> The Conservation Security Program is the first program to reward farmers who have adopted good conservation practices, and it provides substantial incentives to expand or enhance current conservation efforts. Get Ready. Get Set. & Get in CSP!  (PDF; 491 KB)

CSP Information available in Spanish

Programa de Seguridad para la Conservación  (CSP en inglés) CSP es un programa voluntario de conservación que apoya el buen manejo, mantenimiento y mejoramiento de los recursos naturales en tierras privadas. Programa de Seguridad para la Conservación (CSP en inglés) (PDF; 379 KB)

Link for additional Spanish program information at NRCS.
2002 Farm Bill Programas de Conservación (en español)

    

Contact: csphelp@wa.usda.gov for questions regarding the Washington State Conservation Security Program or:

    Dave Brown
    Asst. State Conservationist for Programs
    USDA  - Natural Resources Conservation Service
    316 W. Boone Ave  Suite 450
    Spokane, WA  99201
    509.323.2971

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