United States Department of Agriculture
Natural Resources Conservation Service		 New York Go to Accessibility Information
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About Us

Updated: 10/10/2008

The Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) does its work through a mutual agreement with 62 Soil and Water Conservation Districts (SWCD) in New York. Conservation Districts are political subdivisions of State government where activities are governed by a locally appointed board of directors.

Technical experts are located in 47 field offices. They provide assistance to private landowners and local governmental units in all aspects of natural resource protection including soil erosion control, wetland restoration, grazing management, wildlife habitat restoration, water quality improvement, livestock manure management, nutrient management and flood protection. They use nationally recognized conservation practice standards to guide this work.

They deliver conservation programs to local landowners including:

  • Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP)

  • Wetlands Reserve Program (WRP)

  • Wildlife Habitat Incentives Program (WHIP)

  • Small Watershed Program

They provide technical support to other State, Federal and Local agencies in the delivery of the following programs:

  • Conservation Reserve Program (CRP)

  • Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program (CREP)

  • State Environmental Bond Act

  • New York City and Skaneateles Lake Watershed Projects
     

Strategic Issues

In New York there are four strategic issues that drive technical assistance and program activities. The strategy is to maximize the use of all the program tools that are available to address these issues through voluntary conservation. The issues are:

  • Non-point source pollution with respect to livestock agriculture

  • Wetlands preservation and restoration

  • Protection of natural resources on small family farms

  • Wildlife habitat preservation

  • Urban conservation

Non-Point Source Pollution

Projects for the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) have been implemented throughout the state since its inception in 1997. Almost 130 contracts were written for the program during Fiscal Year 2000. Most of these contracts were established for practices focusing on nutrient management (59,921 acres applied) and erosion control measures. About $2.7 million in Federal dollars were brought into the State through this program last year.

Once the implementation dollars have been spent, New York will see an additional $5.6 million in economic activity and 25 more jobs statewide. These benefits to the economy of New York State are secondary to the widespread environmental and recreational benefits that are accruing due to EQIP.

The number two industries in New York is tourism, aided in part by the state’s abundant series of clean lakes and streams. In addition to maintaining agricultural viability, implementation of agricultural conservation practices enhances recreational opportunities and tourism as well by helping to maintain the purity of the state’s valuable water resources

In 2000, 1,964 acres of buffers and 498 waste management systems were installed to improve water quality, in the state.

Wetlands Preservation and Restoration

The Wetlands Reserve Program (WRP) is one of the larger programs in New York. During Fiscal Year 2000 alone, $4,102,000 were spent on easement acquisitions and restoration cost-share agreements for the program, 95 contracts were approved and 5,517 acres of agricultural wetlands were committed to wetland restoration.

The impact of these activities translates into 44 jobs created by the program within NRCS and the private sector combined. There was six million dollars in increased sales of locally purchased goods and services across the state.

Restoration measures (including low berms, ditch plugs, potholes, level ditches, and plantings) also lead to improvements in water quality, ecological support of threatened and endangered species, fisheries, aesthetics, and recreation including hunting and wildlife observation.

A recent survey reported that over 600,000 people hunt in New York and over three million participate in wildlife observation activities on an annual basis. Expenditures per person average $1,150 for hunters and $340 for wildlife observers. The WRP enhances these activities by providing additional recreational opportunities.

A second study suggests that these recreational activities constitute a value of $21 per acre of wetland translating into an annual benefit of $151,000 statewide due to restoration activities.
 

Protection of Natural Resources on Family Farms

New York is a national leader in the Grazing Land Conservation Initiative (GLCI) with 125 new grazing systems and 5,300 acres installed. This initiative is keeping family dairies in business by helping farmers go back to pasturing their livestock on permanent grass instead of purchasing feed.

Since the animal is harvesting the vegetation, costs to the farmer are dramatically reduced and the farmer’s profitability enhanced. The environmental benefits are dramatic since permanent vegetative cover prevents soil erosion and does not require the use pesticides.
 

Wildlife Habitat Preservation and Restoration

The focus for the Wildlife Habitat Incentives Program (WHIP) in New York is to restore and establish grassland habitat for songbirds.

It has been documented that New York has lost thousands of acres of this habitat in the last 15 to 20 years. This change in land use has resulted in a decline in song birds enjoyed by both urban and rural residents. Furthermore, the decline in certain species of song birds has led to a corresponding decline in wildlife diversity, which can have long term adverse impacts on the survival of other species of wildlife.

Given this focus for the program, the primary practices funded are the planting and management of warm and cool season grasses.

During Fiscal Year 1999, 82 new contracts were signed obligating nearly $298,000 in implementation costs and technical assistance supporting 1,600 acres of wildlife habitat. In Fiscal Year 2000, Congress did not fund the WHIP, however, New York has continued to accept applications which now amount to 29 valid applications totaling almost $101,000.
 

Urban Conservation

New York is one of only two states nationally to have two approved Urban Resource Partnerships. They are located in New York City and the City of Buffalo.

Natural Resources Conservation Service partners with five additional Federal agencies and one State agency to assist underserved communities of New York City with environmental education issues.

The New York City project has been highly successful in engaging local community organizations and leveraging non-federal sources of funds to improve the urban environment. Many projects include restoring abandoned property to parks and gardens.

In June of this year Urban Program Manager assisted in the removal of debris including a decaying vehicle and restoring stream banks along the Bronx River.