Investing in the Future of Wildlife

Remarks by Bruce I. Knight, Chief,
Natural Resources Conservation Service,
at the North American Wildlife and Natural Resources Conference
Winston-Salem, NC
March 27, 2003

Thank you, Rollie, and good morning, everyone. It is a pleasure for me to be here today to talk about our nation’s growing investment in private lands conservation and what it means to wildlife and other resources on America’s farms and ranches.

Today, I would like to tell you a bit about the investment the Administration is making in conservation, talk a bit about what NRCS and its partners need to do to get the most out of this investment, and, finally, show how new partnerships and new approaches are needed to put this investment to work on the land.

The organizations and individuals here today already are doing much to conserve and improve wildlife habitat and other natural resources. In the coming years, we will have greater opportunities for conservation of all kinds, thanks to the commitment of resources by the Administration and the Congress,

That commitment represents the largest investment in conservation on America’s working lands in farm bill history – an increase of $18-1/2 billion in conservation spending over ten years. This investment is so big that it announces our entry into what I call “the next golden age of conservation.” Whether you are a wildlife biologist, State agency professional, farmer, or rancher, you will be able to move closer to reaching your conservation goals. And, we will be able to do this important conservation work while maintaining a strong and profitable agriculture industry in this country.


Program Run Down

We have a portfolio of conservation programs for addressing unique local concerns, including wildlife habitat issues, and helping farmers and ranchers implement voluntary solutions for complying with – or even avoid being covered by – provisions of all kinds of environmental regulations. NRCS can provide one-on-one technical assistance for reaching these goals. These conservation programs provide a great deal of flexibility for America’s farmers and ranchers, to help them enhance the natural resources on their lands.

Most importantly, the programs are now more heavily focused on working lands conservation. Among other things, the programs can help American farmers and ranchers meet environmental requirements while maintaining their profitability. That will keep agricultural production in this country, rather than drive it to countries with lower environmental standards. High production under good conservation practices here at home is good for our economy and good for the global environment.

The biggest single conservation program administered by NRCS is the Environmental Quality Incentives Program. EQIP is projected to have an additional $5.5 billion over the next six years. This fiscal year EQIP will have nearly $700 million.

While EQIP is not primarily a wildlife program, those of you who are interested in wildlife issues should look at EQIP closely to see how it can help you reach your goals. The proposed rule for EQIP was out for comments from mid-February to mid-March. I hope many of you took that opportunity to make your views known on how EQIP should operate.

EQIP is just one program. Other conservation programs show similar increases.

Of great interest to many in this room is the Wildlife Habitat Incentives Program, which will have $360 million over six years.

In terms of programs to protect working farmland and ranchland, the renamed Farm and Ranch Land Protection Program will have nearly $600 million over six years. The Farm and Ranch Land Protection Program keeps land in production, while easing the tax burden on the landowner. The new Grassland Reserve Program will have a quarter of a billion dollars in mandatory spending to enroll up to two million acres of grazing land.

In addition, the Wetlands Reserve Program has significant increases in its acreage cap. Last fall, we were able to enroll more than 200,000 acres, and we will at least match that number again this year.

The new Conservation Security Program will provide payments for producers who have historically practiced good stewardship on their agricultural lands and incentives to do more. We issued the Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking last month, and we have extended the comment period through April 3. If you have ideas about how the CSP program should work, we want to hear from you.

The emphasis in our rule making is to keep the rules “Lean and Local.” “Lean and Local” is Deputy Secretary Jim Moseley’s term for writing rules that are simple and keep decision making at the local level. The public comment periods play an important role in keeping the rules “Lean and Local,” so please take the time to comment.


New Approaches to Conservation

Recently, I testified before a House Appropriations Subcommittee on the resources NRCS needs to implement the President’s vision for private lands conservation. I stressed in my testimony that the future of conservation on private lands requires not only a continued commitment of resources, but new approaches to getting the job done.

If Congress approves the conservation spending proposed by the President, we will have the resources needed to take private land conservation to a new level. In anticipation of receiving these resources, we are already working to adjust our traditional ways of thinking and developing new approaches to get the job done. It is not just NRCS that needs to change its thinking and develop new approaches, it is everyone involved in conservation, including our traditional partners and many new partners.

We need to adjust to the increased emphasis placed on conservation on working lands. We need to adjust to the increased emphasis on decision making at the local level. We need to become more efficient – to streamline the delivery of conservation technology and programs. We need to make conservation programs and conservation decision making more accessible. And, we need to learn to work together in more diverse groups to be more effective.

Let’s look at what these five kinds of adjustments mean to how conservation will get done in the future.

First, adjusting to the increased emphasis placed on conservation on working lands. Until now, conservation programs for private lands have focused mainly on taking marginal lands out of production. Now, with major investments in EQIP and the new Conservation Security Program, we will be able to help many more farmers and ranchers implement conservation practices on working lands.

Increased funding and new programs give landowners and operators new opportunities and more flexibility in reaching their conservation goals. The challenge is for all of us, from landowners to government agencies to nongovernmental organizations to focus on conservation goals and not on program dollars.

For wildlife groups, that means looking beyond the Wildlife Habitat Incentives Program. For NRCS and district employees, it means not treating a landowner as “an EQIP customer,” or a “WRP customer,” but looking at his or her overall conservation needs and objectives. The national and state priorities for EQIP – by far the largest conservation program administered by NRCS – as well as the tier structure for CSP, will help all of us focus on conservation goals, rather than on specific programs.

Second, adjusting to the increased emphasis on decision making at the local level. NRCS and the Department of Agriculture are serious about keeping decision making at the local level. Out in the States and districts, local decision making involves State Conservationists and District Conservationists, working with State Technical Committees and local working groups. State agencies, tribes, non-governmental organizations, and others need to work with – or on – these committees and working groups to be sure their interests are included in the decision making process.

Third, becoming more efficient. One way we are becoming more efficient is by making procedural changes that eliminate – or reduce – red tape. For example, NRCS and the Farm Service Agency worked together to eliminate the dual concurrence required under EQIP and CRP. Today, we still consult with each other, but NRCS makes EQIP decisions and FSA makes CRP decisions. The new process provides faster service for the landowner. We are looking for other ways to reduce red tape – and we are writing the new rules for conservation programs to avoid creating new red tape.

Another way of becoming more efficient is to rely more on e-government for our customers who prefer that option. Last summer, we put our Field Office Technical Guide on line. This service, called e-FOTG, is available, not just to NRCS employees, but to conservation districts, States and Tribes, nongovernmental organizations, landowners, and anyone else who has use for the latest technical information.

Those of you in western states are undoubtedly aware that our SNOTEL system provides snowpack information on line. The Department of Agriculture’s e-forms service allows landowners to submit applications for conservation programs on line. Our new TechReg service allows technical service providers to register on line.

We realize that e-government is not for everyone, so we are also working hard to make it easier for our customers and partners to do business with us face-to-face or through the mail.

Fourth, making conservation programs and conservation decision making more accessible. I think we’ve all done a pretty good job of getting the latest information on conservation programs into the hands of our traditional customers. But we need to do a better job of bringing in minority farmers, women, beginning farmers, and limited resource farmers.

Beyond making every farmer aware of our conservation programs, we are also making our technical and program information more accessible. I mentioned the electronic Field Office Technical Guide as a tool for efficient program delivery. But it is also a tool for accessibility. In the old days, landowners and partners alike had to go to the USDA Service Center during office hours to look at practice standards and other technical information. Now that information is a mouse click away.

Our TechReg system is already providing an efficient way for technical service providers to apply for certification. But it will also be a tool for accessibility. Landowners won’t have to come to the service center to look at a list of technical service providers. Instead, they will be able to find a provider on-line.

We are also asking every State to post its ranking criteria for EQIP on the web before making decisions on which contracts to award. Having access to the ranking criteria will help landowners structure their applications to directly address the criteria, and avoid the wasted effort of preparing an applications that will clearly score low on the criteria.

The last new approach I want to mention today is working in more diverse groups to be more effective. America’s investment in conservation over the next ten years is monumental. There is simply too much work for NRCS and our traditional partners – the conservation districts, the RC&D councils, and the States – to get the job done. We need many other groups to take an active role in making conservation happen. Those groups include many of you here today.

One way we are bringing more participants into the conservation effort is through the Technical Service Provider process. Essentially, we are creating an entire new industry of conservation providers in the private sector, State and Tribal governments, universities, and professional associations. In fact, later today, I will be signing a memorandum of understanding with The Wildlife Society, making their Certified Wildlife Biologists eligible to be Technical Service Providers.

Some of you who are here today work with organizations that have been involved in developing the technical service provider process and that will have employees or members who will be technical service providers. Thank you for your participation in developing the process and for your comments on the interim final rule.

Technical Service Providers will play an important role in planning and implementing conservation on private lands, and NRCS is committed to making the system work and work well.

One of our guiding principles was to open up technical service provider certification to the widest possible range of potential providers. We are also reaching out to make sure the technical service provider community reflects the diversity of America’s agricultural community.

Another way we are bringing more participants into the conservation process is through meetings such as this.

Although the Administration is making an unprecedented investment in conservation on private lands, we need to do more. Last summer, we approved contracts totaling nearly $700million for conservation on private lands. We were able to award contracts for thousands of existing applications in several programs.

At the same time, we received thousands of additional applications. Today, we again have a backlog in most programs. EQIP alone now has a backlog of $1.4 billion nationwide. WRP has 2,800 pending applications, amounting to 475,000 acres. FPP has more than $100 million in pending offers for easements.

If we are to help every landowner reach his or her conservation goals, we will need more resources than the Federal government can provide. We will need to combine the resources of the Federal government with those of State agencies; Tribes; conservation, wildlife, and environmental organizations; foundations; corporations; and others in innovative ways.

To bring all these resources into play, we will need to broaden the conservation partnership to ensure every voice is heard. I hope this meeting will produce some new partners for conservation on private lands.


Conclusion

To summarize, let me say that we have had ten months to celebrate passage of the new farm bill and the birth of “the new golden age of conservation.” The Administration has requested the resources we need to allow us to work with new and existing partners and to have the flexibility to take on new projects. The more partners we have, the more conservation we can do. And that should be good for wildlife and other resources.

I look forward to working with all of you to make the next golden age of conservation a reality.

Thank you.