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2008 Conservation Security Program (CSP)
CSP is a voluntary program that provides financial and technical assistance to
promote the conservation and improvement of soil, water, air, energy, plant and
animal life, and other conservation purposes on private working lands. Working
lands include cropland, grassland, prairie land, improved pasture, and range
land, as well as forested land that is an incidental part of an agriculture
operation.
Selected Watershed for 2008
Description of Watershed
General Information
Enhancements
Contract Limits and
Payments Schedules
CSP Verification of Minimum
Eligibility
Illinois CSP Contacts
Lower Cache River Watershed
Click on map for larger jpg image
(123kb)
Click on map for larger jpg image (236kb)
The following documents requires
Adobe Acrobat.
Printable PDF of
State
Map (PDF, 172kb)
Printable
PDF of Watershed Map (PDF, 277kb)
List of Counties
- Alexander
-
Johnson
-
Pulaski
- Union
The Cache River flows approximately 110 miles and empties into the Ohio River. The
basin drains nearly the entire southern tip of Illinois. The Lower Cache River
watershed contains approximately 230,000 acres of land and approximately 420
farms with an average size of 288 acres. Corn and soybeans are the principal
agricultural crops, along with sorghum, wheat and hay. In addition, 20 percent
of Illinois’ nurseries and orchards--primarily peaches and apples--are located
here. Nearly 60 percent of the area is in crops and pastureland, with the
remaining acreage is in
forest. Farm income in the watershed is very poor, due to the less fertile soils
and declining commercial fruit and vegetable production on which the region had
been historically reliant.
Drainage for the Cache River originates in the Shawnee Hills. The watershed
drainage area consists of unglaciated sandstone bedrock with cliffs and
overhanging bluffs in the north, and lower limestone and sandstone bedrock with
sinkholes, caves, and glades to the south. The watershed contains
representatives of as many as 20 natural ecological community types, some of
which are the best or the only examples of their type in the state. It is
brimming with Illinois’ most unique and resource-rich habitats. The area
shelters more than 100 wildlife and plant species in Illinois which are endangered
or threatened throughout the United States. The local economy is influenced by
the outdoor recreation and tourism in the Cache River area.
Common resource concerns in the Lower Cache Watershed are deforestation, habitat
fragmentation, water flows and flooding, erosion and sedimentation, and water
quality.
NRI Land Cover/Use
Land Use |
Total Acres |
Cropland |
100,200 |
Pasture |
33,900 |
Forest |
47,200 |
Developed |
6,200 |
Water |
1,700 |
Other |
40,810 |
Total |
230,000 |
Sign up dates April 18 - May 30, 2008
The CSP Process
Title |
Format |
File Size |
Process |
Some of the following documents require
Adobe Acrobat
Reader. |
Step 1: Illinois
Introductory CSP Information |
PDF |
1,610 KB |
Step 1 |
Step 2: CSP
Self-Assessment Workbook and Supplements and Sign a CSP Application |
PDF |
3,234 KB |
Step 2 |
Step 3: Submitting
the Workbook and Scheduling a Field Office Interview |
|
|
Step 3 |
Step 4: Preparing
for the Field Office Interview |
PDF |
3,446 KB |
Step 4 |
Step 5: Completing
Field Office Interview and Finalizing a CSP Application |
|
|
Step 5 |
Step 6: Funding
of a CSP Application |
|
|
Step 6 |
Step 7: Signing the
Conservation Stewardship Contract and Finalizing Necessary Paperwork |
|
|
Step7 |
Step 8: Verification |
|
|
Step 8 |
Step 9: Receiving CSP Payments |
|
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Step 9 |
CSP enhancement activities reward individuals for conservation activities they
are already doing and provide incentives to adopt new methods. An applicant must
first qualify for CSP by meeting the minimum soil and water eligibility, which
makes them eligible for receiving enhancement payments. The following are the
enhancements available to Illinois applicants. The activity sheets explain the
criteria and required elements for each enhancement. The certification sheets
are the document the producer will sign acknowledging he/she understands the
enhancement and identify which activity he/she will continue to perform.
The following documents require
Adobe Acrobat
Reader.
Enhancements
Air Resource |
Activity
Sheet |
Certification
Sheet |
Agricultural Odor
• Biofilters
• Scrubbers
• Injecting Manure
• Incorporating Manure
• Odor Control Additives
|
(PDF, 59kb) |
(PDF, 66kb) |
Energy |
Activity
Sheet |
Certification
Sheet |
Energy Audit of Agricultural Operations |
(PDF, 34kb) |
(PDF,30kb) |
Recycle 100 Percent of Waste Lubricants On-Farm |
(PDF, 35kb) |
(PDF, 30kb) |
Renewable Energy Generation |
(PDF, 34kb) |
(PDF, 29kb) |
Grazing |
Activity
Sheet |
Certification
Sheet |
Grazing Management (2 or more)
• Rotate Supplements
• Grazing Support Software
• Manage Pasture Legumes
• Grazing to Improve Wildlife
• Burning to Improve Wildlife
|
(PDF, 58kb) |
(PDF, 100kb) |
Monitoring
• Monitoring Level 1
• Monitoring Level 2
• Monitoring Level 3
|
(PDF, 58kb) |
(PDF, 145kb) |
Habitat (Wildlife) |
Activity
Sheet |
Certification
Sheet |
Managing Riparian Zones for Fish and Wildlife |
(PDF, 36kb) |
(PDF, 29kb) |
Pollinator Areas |
(PDF, 38kb) |
(PDF, 44kb) |
Shallow Water Habitat Management |
(PDF, 38kb) |
(PDF, 29kb) |
Wildlife Friendly Haying Management |
(PDF, 224kb) |
(PDF, 236kb) |
Wildlife - Water Quality, Widen Buffers
• Level 1
• Level 2
|
(PDF, 59kb) |
(PDF, 38kb) |
Nutrient (Water Quality) |
Activity
Sheet |
Certification
Sheet |
Nutrient Management (2 or more)
• Nitrogen Application based on Plant Tissue Test
• Incorporate/Inject Phosphorous
• Add Legume to Crop Rotation
• Plant Cover Crop to Scavenge Nitrogen
• Precision Agriculture to Reduce Fertilizer Use
• Nitrogen Application Management
o Nitrogen Applied within 30 days of Planting
o Immediate/Controlled Release Fertilizer Application
o Split Nitrogen Application
o Split Fertilizer Application on Pre-sidedress Nitrogen Test
|
(PDF, 105kb) |
(PDF, 41kb) |
Pest Management (Air and Water Quality) |
Activity
Sheet |
Certification
Sheet |
Pesticide Management
• Utilize High Level Integrated Pest Management
• Precision Pesticide Application
o Precision Guidance System
o Sensor Guidance System
o Computer Guided System and Meteorological Data
• Use GPS Data Loggers
• Use Chemical Adjuvants- Irrigated/Dry Cropland, Orchard/Vineyard
• Windbreaks (Air)
|
(PDF, 68kb) |
(PDF, 74kb) |
Plants |
Activity
Sheet |
Certification
Sheet |
Cropped Woodland Improvement |
(PDF, 26kb) |
(PDF, 26kb) |
Soil |
Activity
Sheet |
Certification
Sheet |
Compaction Avoidance through Controlled Traffic
• Controlled Traffic - Fixed Travel Markers
• GPS Controlled Traffic - GPS
|
(PDF, 70kb) |
(PDF, 49kb) |
Soil Conditioning Index Thresholds
• Levels 1 through 5
|
(PDF, 37kb) |
(PDF, 26kb) |
Water Management |
Activity
Sheet |
Certification
Sheet |
Irrigation Management |
(PDF, 40kb) |
(PDF, 32kb) |
Remote Monitoring of Irrigation Pumping Plant |
(PDF, 24kb) |
(PDF, 27kb) |
Field Poly Tubing and Drip Tape Recycling |
(PDF, 25kb) |
(PDF, 29kb) |
Reduction of Evaporative Losses |
(PDF, 32kb) |
(PDF, 37kb) |
Drainage Management |
Activity
Sheet |
Certification
Sheet |
Drainage Water Management |
(PDF, 34kb) |
(PDF, 52kb) |
The following document requires
Adobe Acrobat
Reader.
Contract_Limits_Payments-LCache.pdf
(PDF, 137kb)
The following document requires
Adobe Acrobat
Reader.
Verifications_Minimum_Eligibility_4-2008.pdf
(PDF, 214kb)
National CSP Archived Materials located at
http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/programs/csp
Illinois Archived CSP Information.
For copies of materials, contact Paula Hingson at
paula.hingson@il.usda.gov.
2006 - Upper Sangamon
Watershed
2005 - Lower Kaskaskia,
Kishwaukee, and Middle
Wabash-Busseron Watersheds
2004 - Kishwaukee Watershed
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