South Carolina Farmer Sees a Future in WRP

Providence farmer Carl Thompson's two children are now young adults and of marrying age.

Grandchildren are sure to be on the horizon for the 55-year-old farmer, and with this upcoming generation in mind, Thompson entered about 700 acres of his land into the Natural Resources Conservation Service's Wetlands Reserve Program.

The land stretches along the border of Interstates 95 and 26.

"We want to restore it to swamp," said Thompson, proudly wearing a Ducks Unlimited shirt. "I want my grandchildren and my children to see Four Holes Swamp as it was when I started in it 50 years ago."

Learn about the Wetlands Reserve Program and other Farm Bill programs.

Under the WRP, the 700 acres will be locked in perpetuity for conservation and natural preservation.

"Twenty years ago, I used to hunt with dogs and I used to walk through the swamps and across the streams," Thompson said, noting that while his hunting days have dwindled, his son still enjoys the sport. "We have been planning for three years; I am sold on the program. It is a great program to restore the natural."

Thompson was among the handful gathered recently to celebrate May as American Wetlands Month. The event, held in the Four Holes Swamp region near Bowman, was sponsored by the NRCS. The theme of the gathering was, It pays to preserve wetlands.

Thompson joined with local, state and national NRCS officials to tout the Four Holes Swamp as a natural wonder with teeming wild and plant life and jewel needing preservation.

The Four Holes Swamp WRP project involves six permanent, adjoining easements that aim to restore more than 6,000 acres of wetlands.

The project goal is to restore the natural hydrology of the land by removing blockages, such as roads and culverts, that prevent the natural flow of water through the flood plain.

Officials are hoping the removal of obstacles will facilitate migration of fish which, in turn, would improve food sources downstream. The entire process is expected to renourish and diversify plant and animal life.

The WRP aims to provide technical and financial assistance to eligible landowners to address wetland, wildlife habitat, soil, water and natural resource concerns on private lands.

The program was authorized in the 2002 Farm Bill, and about 20 new contracts are entered into each year. About 50,000 acres in the state are in easements. Landowners control the deed-restricted land, which is set aside strictly for recreational purposes.

Thompson said preserving natural resources are not against progress, but they are rather to strike a balance and harmonious chord between development and conservation.

"The county has got to grow, and it is good," he said. "Progress is good, but progress does not need to be done in wetlands. Wetlands are natural beauty and natural history. A hundred years from now, I may be the only one in the state that has natural beauty and natural growth. People 200 years from now will say, 'At least someone has thought of it (conservation).'"

The Four Holes Swamp region, which borders I-95 and I-26 interchange, has often been touted by county economic development officials as a global logistics triangle and prime real estate for development.

Frank Stephens, Orangeburg NRCS District Conservationist, said the Four Holes Swamp WRP project would not have any detrimental impact on the plans county economic development officials have for the I-95/I-26 triangle area.

Stephens said the land is well-above the proposed triangle, and because it is predominately swamp land, much of it would not be conducive to development.

"The area we are looking at conservation should not have any negative impact on economic development," Stephens said.

Elloree farmer William Burden Bookhart entered about 18 acres of his farm into the wetlands reserve program and about 5 acres to the conservation reserve program about four years ago.

The land, which was low lying and not conducive to crop production, was entered into the program for a 30-year period.

"I have always been interested in wildlife, especially migratory water fowl," Bookhart said. "The wetlands reserve program, which gives you a monetary incentive to restore that land to wetlands, not to keep trying to farm it. We were trying to farm it before, but four out of five years the crops would drown out."

Under the program, Bookhart said he received 70 percent of the appraised value of the land while the NRCS pays about 90 percent of the cost of land restoration.

The incentives are a positive, but Bookhart said many older-generation farmers tend not to take to the idea of wetlands conservation.

"The old-school farmers are reluctant to put their land in any kind of program like this because they were around to see this land drained in the first place," Bookhart said. "That was the thing to do in the 40s and 50s, you wanted to make this land farmable so they cut all these big canals and drained it."

Bookhart, who is 37 years old, said the younger generation of farmers may be more likely to enter such programs, particularly due to declining crop prices.

"If they have area that is marginal in production, it costs them a lot to produce a crop on it and they are not getting much out of it these days, they seek out programs like this which is good," Bookhart said.

Event speakers included Walter Douglas, NRCS state conservationist; USDA acting deputy under secretary for Conservation in Washington, DC, Courtenay McCormick and Jim Lewis, NRCS wildlife biologist.

Story by Gene Zaleski, Times and Democrat.