Mississippi

Conservation Security Program (CSP)

The Conservation Security Program (CSP) is a voluntary program that goes beyond the past approach of repairing on-farm conservation problems.  Instead, CSP offers rewards to those who have been good stewards of the soil and water resources on their working agricultural land.  CSP provides financial and technical assistance to landowners to further enhance the conservation and improvement of soil, water, air, energy, plant and animal life, and other conservation purposes on Tribal and private working lands.  Working lands include cropland, grassland, improved pasture, as well as forested land that is an incidental part of an agriculture operation.

CSP also offers incentives for those who wish to exceed the minimum levels of resource protection and enhance the natural resources on the land they manage. By providing financial and technical assistance to those who currently practice conservation stewardship within selected watersheds these stewards will be examples for others to follow for future CSP sign-ups.  Furthermore, by rewarding land stewardship, CSP will ensure that our Nations' private agricultural lands remain viable working enterprises.

The Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002(2002 Farm Bill) (Pub.L. 107-171) amended the Food Security Act of 1985 to authorize the program.  CSP is administered by USDA's Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS).

2008 Conservation Security Program (CSP)

CSP Watersheds that include Mississippi counties:

Tickfaw Watershed

The Town Creek Watershed is selected as the 2008 CSP Watershed for Mississippi

Hydrologic Unit Code: 03160102

The Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) has selected the Town Creek Watershed in Mississippi for the Conservation Security Program (CSP).  What does the CSP watershed designation mean for landowners and operators with private agricultural lands within this watershed?  It means that they may be eligible for financial and technical assistance through qualification in CSP in the selected watershed.  Sign-up for the program will begin April 18 and close on May16.

Introduction

The Town Creek 8- Digit Hydrologic Unit Code (HUC) watershed is 435,638 acres in Northeast Mississippi.  Most of the Town Creek watershed is in Lee and Pontotoc counties with smaller portions in Union, Chickasaw, Monroe and Itawamba counties.  There are 999 farms in the watershed.  Average farm size is 187 acres.

Conservation assistance is provided by six NRCS service centers, two Resource Conservation and Development (RC&D) offices, one Soil Survey office, and six Soil and Water Conservation Districts.

Physical Description

The Town Creek watershed is located in northeast Mississippi in portions of 6 counties (Lee, Pontotoc, Union, Monroe, Chickasaw, and Itawamba) and contains approximately 444, 519 acres.  It contains tow major land resource areas that contain four Common Resources Areas (CRA).  These CRA's are the Southern Hilly Gulf Coastal Plain (12%), Blackland Prairie (67%), Southern Coastal Plain Flood Plains and Terraces (5%), and Prairie Margins (16%).  The predominant land uses are forest (171,000 ac.), pasture/grasslands (72, 100 ac. ), and cropland (136,900 ac.).  Major cultivated crops produced are soybeans, corn, and cotton.  There a small number of active dairies and poultry operations in the watershed.  Participation and enrollment in the Conservation Reserve Program is high in portions of the watershed, especially the Blackland Prairie.  Average farm operation size for cropland is very large with primarily white operators.  Grazing operations are numerous as are smaller hobby farms for horses.  There are a significant number of smaller black farm operations particularly in the southwest part of Lee County.  Conservation System Guides (CSG) have been developed that primarily address soil erosion on cropland, grazing land management, and riparian zone establishment for all CRA's in the watershed.