Wildlife Habitat Incentives Program 1999 Accomplishments

The Wildlife Habitat Incentives Program (WHIP) is a voluntary program established to improve wildlife habitat in our Nation. The program was made part of the Farm Bill by the 1996 amendments and is administered by the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS). This document provides program data resulting from the 1999 sign-up.

FY 1999 Activity Summary

• Twenty million dollars was distributed to states for financial and technical assistance in 1999.
• 3,855 long-term agreements were approved enrolling 721,249 acres in the program nationally.
• The average agreement encompassed 187 acres and provided $4,628 in cost-share.
• Wildlife priorities, identified a State-by-State basis, made wetlands and aquatic in-stream habitat the top priorities. Other unique wildlife habitat such as caves and salt marshes were identified as priorities in a number of States.
• Total 721,249 Acres Enrolled in 1999

* Habitat type was not recorded for 5,484 enrolled acres. Some aquatic practices, including fish passages, cannot be measured in acreage.

Upland Wildlife Habitat

Of the total 721,249 WHIP acres enrolled, 89 percent encompassed upland wildlife habitat including grasslands, shrub/scrub and forests. Several types of early successional grasslands, such as tall grass prairies, have declined more than 98 percent according a 1995 U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Report. One of the primary focuses of WHIP nationally, is restoration of some of these scarce areas. Wildlife dependent on native grasslands includes neo-tropical migratory birds, waterfowl, amphibians, reptiles and many mammals. Specific species that will benefit from re-establishment of grasslands in one or more states include: grasshopper sparrow, bobwhite quail, swift fox, short-eared owl, Karner-blue butterfly, gopher tortoise, western-harvest mouse, and Gunnison-sage grouse.

Other upland priorities included establishment of windbreaks and edge around cropland, forests including pine barrens and long leaf pine, wildlife corridors, and shrub scrub steppe habitats. Wildlife species that will benefit from development of these habitats include: Louisiana black bear, Eastern collared lizard, Bachman’s sparrow, ovenbird, acorn woodpecker, and western grey-squirrel.

Practices installed on upland habitat include: various types of seeding and plantings, fencing, livestock management, prescribed burning, shrub thickets with shelterbelts. Additional practices were installed for the benefit of forest land management including creation of forest openings, various types of disking or mowing including meander disking through woodlands, woody cover control, brush management, upland wildlife management, aspen stand regeneration, and exclusion of feral animals.

Wetland Wildlife Habitat

Wetland wildlife will benefit on 7.5 percent of WHIP lands where wetland habitat will be enhanced or created. WHIP wetland acres include acreage that is not eligible for the NRCS Wetland Reserve Program cost-share agreements such as winter flooding of crop fields for waterfowl. Other wetland types that will be enhanced include tidal flushing areas, salt marshes, wetland hardwood hammocks, mangrove forests, and wild-rice beds. Created wetlands include freshwater marshes and vernal pools in abandoned gravel mines. Practices that will be used to enhance or create wetland wildlife habitat include: installation of culverts or water control structures, invasive plant control, fencing, creation of greentree reservoirs, moist soil unit management, and creation of shallow water areas. Among the wildlife species that will benefit from creation or enhancement of wetland habitat are: blackcrowned night heron, snowy egret, canvasback duck, ibis, piping plover, short-nosed sturgeon, osprey, California-clapper rail, fairy shrimp, and Santa Cruz long-toed salamander.

Riparian and Instream Aquatic Wildlife Habitat

Riparian and in-stream aquatic wildlife habitats make up 2.6 percent and nearly 1 percent, respectively, of all WHIP acreage. This category includes riparian areas along streams, river, lakes, sloughs and coastal areas, as well as the streams, lakes and rivers themselves. Species that will benefit from the wildlife practices installed in riparian or aquatic areas include: Columbia sharp-tail grouse, Le/Conte’s sparrow, bull trout, grayling, westslope cutthroat trout, Preble’s meadow jumping mouse, southwest willow flycatcher, woodcock, Hellbender, river otter, brook trout, short-nose sturgeon, puritan tiger beetle, Higgin’s eye pearly mussel, Pallid shiner, ornate box turtle, alligator snapping turtle, lest tern, leopard darter,  Arkansas darter, Ouachita Rock-pocketbook mussel, Bonneville cutthroat trout, Oregon chub, painted turtle, belted kingfisher, yellow-billed cuckoo, California freshwater shrimp, valley-elderberry longhorn beetle, American shad, and Pacific giant salamander.

Practices that will be installed to improve aquatic and riparian wildlife habitat include: tree plantings, fencing with livestock management and off-stream watering, in-stream structures, seeding, streambank protection and stabilization, stream deflectors, creation of small pools, installation of buffers, removal of dams, fencing, creation of fish passages past structures, alternative watering facilities, and establishment of instream structures such as logs or rocks.

Threatened and Endangered Species

Of the total acreage enrolled in FY 1999, approximately 10 percent will benefit threatened and endangered species. Threatened and endangered species targeted through WHIP include, but are not limited to the following: American-burying beetle, Neosho madtom, Topeka shiner, gray bat, kit fox, bog turtle, gopher tortoise, dusky-gopher frog, Eastern-indigo snake, southern-hognose snake, black-pine snake, Louisiana-black bear, red-cockaded woodpeckers, Mississippi-sandhill crane, Florida panther, wood storks, snail kites, Florida sandhill crane, caracara, grasshopper sparrow, Snake River-Chinook salmon, Umpua River-cutthroat trout, coho salmon, steelhead, bulltrout, Lahontan-cutthroat trout, Yuma-clapper rails, Sonoran pronghorn, Mexican voles, and lesser long-nosed bats.

Partnerships

NRCS, in cooperation with other Federal agencies, State and local partners, and the private sector, functions as part of a diverse, united coalition to address local and national conservation issues affecting our nation. NRCS works at the local level and through the State Technical Committee to establish wildlife priorities. This process allows for local input as well as the coordination of wildlife priorities with other wildlife interest in the state encouraging the leveraging of other state, federal and private dollars to address state and local wildlife priorities. Partners provide technical expertise identifying wildlife concerns, assisting in the development of wildlife habitat development plans and monitoring progress. In addition, partners provide financial assistance through additional cost-share dollars, purchase of seed, by supplying equipment, or installing practices for the participant. The emphasis placed on partners in WHIP has improved communication and coordination among various interests addressing wildlife concerns. They are an essential part of the success of the program.

1999 Partnership Examples

Mississippi is one of several states that used WHIP funds to establish educational areas. A WHIP agreement was developed with the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians. The agreement includes an education tract that is open to the public. The trail includes creation of a wetland study area, installing bat and bird boxes, and erecting plant identification signs in English and Choctaw. The project is being used by the Choctaw School System, Youth Opportunity Program and Vocational Rehabilitation as well as Neshoba County Schools, the Girl Scouts, church groups and 4-H Clubs. In addition to NRCS, the partnership includes the Chief and Tribal Council, several state departments, the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians, Choctaw Youth Opportunity Program, NAS Youth Challenge Program, Fulgrum Industries, Central Electric Power Association, Mississippi Power and Light, and the Nachez Trace Division of the National Park Service.

North Dakota also used a portion of their WHIP funds for educational activities. Outdoor wildlife learning sites (OWLS) are located on school property at 25 locations around the State. WHIP provided a small portion of the project cost. Funds were used for site preparation, planting material and wetland construction. School districts, North Dakota Game and Fish, and the local conservation Districts contributed funding for the projects.

Maine NRCS, in cooperation with a number of partners, removed the Brownville Dam on the Pleasant River in the Penobscot Watershed this summer providing 300 miles of unobstructed anadronous fish habitat. Removal of the dam will result in decreased water temperatures and increased aeration. Natural white water will be restored and canoeing and fishing opportunities will be improved in a state where tourism is a major source of income. Maine’s WHIP has served was a catalyst that will generate financial contributions of nearly $1.5 million when all FY 1999 practices are applied.

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