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Release No. 0076.99 Andrew Kauders (202) 720-4623 GLICKMAN ANNOUNCES $275 MILLION TO HELP RESTORE NORTH CAROLINA’S ALBEMARLE-PAMLICO ESTUARY GOLDSBORO, NC, March 1, 1999 -- Agriculture Secretary Dan Glickman today announced a new $275 million federal-state initiative with North Carolina to improve the water quality of the Albemarle-Pamlico Estuary. The agreement, signed today by Glickman and Governor Jim Hunt, creates the North Carolina Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program (CREP). It will fund conservation practices on stream and river banks in the Neuse, Tar-Pamlico, and Chowan river basins, including land in the Haw and New Hope River watershed, which provides municipal drinking water. "This program will restore habitat for endangered and threatened wildlife, help bring an important fishery back to health, and improve the quality of a drinking water source serving more than 550,000 people," said Glickman. "This is a long-term, cost-effective solution to help preserve North Carolina’s river basins and watersheds for future generations." The NC CREP will pay farmers to plant hardwood trees, grass filter strips, riparian buffers, and vegetation that will serve as habitat for wildlife and that restores wetlands. The vegetation and wetlands will filter contaminants from water runoff before it enters streams and rivers. Up to 85,000 acres of riparian habitat and 15,000 acres of wetlands will be enrolled. The Albemarle-Pamlico Estuary is the second largest estuarine complex in the United States and produces over $1 billion in economic benefits. However, rising levels of nutrients and other contaminants may have contributed to outbreaks of pfiesteria, loss of shellfish beds, loss of aquatic vegetation, and degradation of wetlands. Annual commercial fish production in the estuary has dropped from 400 million pounds in the 1970s to 181 million pounds in the 1990s. CREP uses financial incentives to encourage farmers to enroll highly environmentally-sensitive land adjacent to targeted streams and rivers in CRP contracts of 10 to 15 years duration. Under the contracts, agricultural landowners and producers agree to remove the lands from agricultural production and plant and maintain long-term, resource conserving vegetative covers. In return, they receive cost-share and technical assistance. The program is estimated to cost approximately $275 million over 15 years, with $221 million coming from the federal government and $54 million coming from North Carolina. For producers who enroll solely in a 15-year CREP contract, the State will pay 25 percent of the cost of establishing trees, 20 percent of the approved costs of livestock exclusion and remote watering, and 10 percent of installing grass filter strips. These payments are in addition to the regular payments made under the CRP. Other incentives are available for producers enrolling in permanent conservation agreements and those planting trees. USDA’s Farm Service Agency administers the program. Farmers and landowners can obtain more information about this program from their local USDA Service Center or on the web at www.fsa.usda.gov/dafp/cepd/crpinfo.htm # |
