I’m guessing this sharp-tailed grouse and rooster pheasant were the last birds taken off this CRP land before it was plowed under.

6,526,717.   That’s how many acres currently under a CRP contract are set to expire this autumn.  If you thought last hunting season was tough, think about the ramifications to pheasants, quail, ducks, deer and our nation’s water quality if we lose 6.5 million acres more of critical habitat created by CRP lands.  The clock to re-enroll those acres started this morning when the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced a new CRP General Signup.

Here are the key pieces of information on the upcoming signup:

• Timing: Starting date is Monday, March 12^th and it will run through Friday, April 6, 2012
• EBI: Offers for CRP contracts are ranked according to the Environmental Benefits Index (EBI). USDA’s Farm Service Agency collects data for each of the EBI factors based on the relative environmental benefits for the land offered. Each eligible offer is ranked in comparison to all other offers and selections made from that ranking.  EBI rankings will use the same factors as the 2011 CRP general signup.
• No Acre Target: The USDA has said there is no current acre target for this signup, so it’s critical that all landowners with an interest in enrollment check out their options at their local USDA Service Center.
• Technical Assistance: Pheasants Forever Farm Bill Biologists are eager to assist landowners make the most competitive offers possible.  Contact your local Pheasants Forever Farm Bill Biologist.
• National Pheasant Fest & Quail Classic 2012: All attendees to this year’s event in Kansas City can sit down with a biologist and receive one-on-one expert advice on their CRP offer or any other federal conservation program.  Stop by the Landowner Habitat Help Room at the show to learn more.

At last year’s National Pheasant Fest in Omaha, USDA Secretary addressed our attendees, “Over the past 25 years, support for CRP has grown thanks to strong backing from partners like Pheasants Forever, farmers, ranchers, conservationists, hunters, fishermen and other outdoor sports enthusiasts.  Not only has CRP contributed to the national effort to  improve water and  air quality, it has preserved habitat for wildlife, and prevented soil erosion by protecting the most sensitive areas including those prone to flash flooding and runoff.”

If you know a landowner interested in CRP, make the call and get them informed on the new CRP General Signup.  The clock on 6.5 million acres is ticking.  The pheasants and quail that call those acres home are depending on us.

The D.C. Minute is written by Dave Nomsen, Pheasants Forever’s Vice President of Government Relations.

We are very much looking forward to working with Senator Klobuchar in crafting a strong conservation title in the upcoming 2012 Farm Bill.

Here is Senator Klobuchar addressing Pheasants Forever’s 2012 Minnesota State Convention in a video message:

The D.C. Minute is written by Dave Nomsen, Pheasants Forever’s Vice President of Government Relations.

Is the Conservation Reserve Program headed the way of the Soil Bank?

I have worked in Washington, D.C. on conservation programs and CRP since its 1985 beginnings.  I’ve never, ever, seen the program’s future so grim.  There are proposals to slash CRP’s current 32 million-acre baseline in half . . . or worse.  I don’t need to tell you what a loss of that magnitude would mean to pheasants, quail, flood prevention, water quality and hunting access.  “DEVASTATING” is the word that rings in my mind.

I recognize we do need to reduce federal spending, but we need to be wise about our conservation cuts.  If you’ve been sitting on the sidelines of this battle for conservation in the past, it’s critical that you get in the game now.  Your future and your children’s future of days spent in the field together with bird dogs and flushing roosters hangs in the balance.

This is my personal plea; please, please contact your two U.S. Senators and one U.S. Representative about making CRP reauthorization a top Congressional priority today.  If you get a response back, please drop me an email message with the feedback you receive at dnomsen@pheasantsforever.org.  Please don’t let CRP be this generation’s Soil Bank program of days gone by.

Thank You!

The D.C. Minute is written by Dave Nomsen, Pheasants Forever’s Vice President of Government Relations.

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Director Dan Ashe puts ink to paper for the Dakota Grasslands Conservation Area, which has the potential to conserve more than 2 million acres of wildlife habitat.

This week, Dan Ashe, Director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, signed the Dakota Grasslands Conservation Area Environmental Assessment and Land Protection Plan. This is another major step to making the Dakota Grasslands Conservation Area a reality, and it wouldn’t have been possible without the advocacy of Pheasants Forever members.

“The lands targeted for protection in the Dakota Grasslands Conservation Area will conserve up to 240,000 acres of wetlands and 1.7 million acres of grasslands in the Prairie Pothole Region. The newly established conservation area will buffer against the adverse impacts associated with a variety of environmental stressors and assure in achieving the mission of the National Wildlife Refuge system,” Ashe stated in his approval letter.

More simply put, the Dakota Grasslands Conservation Area will protect a bunch of quality pheasant and duck habitat, a win for conservationists and upland and waterfowl hunters. The current administration has stated this proposed area is one of its highest conservation priorities, and the letters, emails and phone calls from Pheasants Forever members in support of it have certainly been heard.

Thanks for your continued support of Pheasants Forever and wildlife habitat conservation!

For more: See Building a Conservation Ethic for the 21st Century

The D.C. Minute is written by Dave Nomsen, Pheasants Forever’s Vice President of Government Relations.

“The most endangered species in South Dakota these days is a young rancher,” Jim Faulstich told me, as we sat in the barn of his ranch in central South Dakota.  “As we lose the grasslands, we also lose the wildlife habitat and the hunting tradition that is a vital part of our heritage.”

With 6,000 acres of native grasslands and wetlands rich with pheasants, sharptail grouse, prairie chickens, partridge, ducks, antelope, and whitetail and mule deer, Faulstich’s Daybreak Ranch is a special place for both wildlife and hunters.

U.S. Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar, left, visits with Jim Faulstich, center, and Faulstich’s son-in-law Adam Roth, right, on a conservation easement acreage on Faulstich’s Highmore Ranch. Courtesy Photo

As his father before him did, Jim runs 500 head of cattle on the ranch and welcomes 100 sportsmen each year to enjoy the abundant wildlife and beauty of the land. Someday, he hopes to pass the ranch down to his son-in-law, Adam, and his grandson, Caleb. But he’s worried. Every year, 50,000 acres of grassland are plowed under in South Dakota.

I sat down with Jim on a windswept day recently to talk about the future of ranches like his and what can be done to preserve South Dakota’s ranching heritage and the native grasslands that are vital habitat to both game and non-game species.

Jim already has much of his land under easements, and together that day, we signed an agreement to have U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service biologists work hand-in-hand with him to better manage his grasslands both for wildlife and cattle, including providing fencing to make it easier to rotate grazing areas.

I was visiting South Dakota as part of the America’s Great Outdoors initiative unveiled last year by President Obama. Under the initiative, we are seeking to establish a 21st century conservation ethic and to reconnect Americans to the outdoors through recreational activities such as fishing and hunting.

One of our primary goals is to conserve the working landscapes of rural America — places like Daybreak Ranch.

Along these lines, Jim and I talked about a new proposal to use proceeds from the Land and Water Conservation Fund and matching private contributions — Ducks Unlimited has pledged up to $50 million — to work with willing ranchers to put conservation easements in place on up to 1.9 million acres of key waterfowl and upland producing areas in the Dakotas, thereby establishing what will be the Dakota Grasslands Conservation Area.

Unlike the traditional national wildlife refuges that dot the “prairie pothole” region, this new conservation area would remain in private ownership. Ranchers would continue to graze their cattle. The income from the easements would make it possible for them — and their children — to continue ranching while making sure the grasslands remain grasslands.

In short, the use of easements allows us to conserve more wildlife habitat using less money while helping to ensure a way of life is protected in the Dakotas.

With 500 landowners on the Fish and Wildlife Service’s waiting list for easements, the ranching community in the Dakotas seems eager to embrace the proposal. Additional conservation support comes from groups like Pheasants Forever, which has made tremendous inroads in recent years in working hand-in-hand with North and South Dakota landowners on federal conservation initiatives.

They are not alone. Under the America’s Great Outdoors initiative, we are using this 21st century conservation model in other places where working landscapes are in jeopardy.

Earlier this year, for example, I visited Kansas to announce the establishment of the Flint Hills Legacy Conservation Area, which will conserve up to 1.1 million acres of tallgrass prairie habitat through voluntary perpetual easements. These easements will protect habitat for more than 100 species of grassland birds and 500 plant species, and ensure the region’s sustainable ranching culture will endure.

Across the continent just north of the Everglades in Florida, ranchers also are using this model to protect their way of life — and the embattled “River of Grass” ecosystem –from the encroachment of subdivisions and condominiums.

‘We could see what was happening to our state,” said sixth-generation rancher Cary Lightsey who already has 14,000 acres of conservation easements on his land. “We were running out of green space and we were at risk of losing our heritage.”

Lightsey is joining other ranchers to support the new Everglades Headwaters National Wildlife Refuge and Conservation Area. The initiative primarily will use easements to conserve approximately 150,000 acres of vital habitat, improve water quality in the headquarters of the Everglades and ensure that rural working landscapes remain a vital part of Florida’s economy.

Under the America’s Great Outdoors initiative, we are working with landowners in many other places on similar proposals that would replicate the model.

During the Dust Bowl era of the 1930s when over-plowing and poor agricultural practices on the Great Plains led to an ecological catastrophe, President Franklin said, “man and nature must work hand in hand — the throwing out of balance of the resources of nature throws out of balance also the lives of men.”

The America’s Great Outdoors initiative recognizes the balance that must be maintained on our working landscapes.

Sitting in a South Dakota barn with Jim Faulstich, I couldn’t help but be optimistic. We will save places like Daybreak Ranch for future generations. We will conserve the last remaining native grasslands. We will maintain the balance of nature for people and wildlife alike.

The D.C. Minute is written by Dave Nomsen, Pheasants Forever’s Vice President of Government Relations.

Ken Salazar, U.S. Secretary of the Interior, speaking with landowners about the proposed Dakota Grassland Conservation Area. Targeted at the Prairie Pothole Region, the proposed area would conserve up to 2 million acres of wildlife habitat. Photo © John Pollmann

UPDATE: Deadline to submit your comments is Monday, July 25th.

Many people underestimate the significance their involvement can play in the legislative process. In my years in Washington, D.C., I’ve seen firsthand 10 phone calls or emails that, collectively, made the difference. With public input wanted on the proposed Dakota Grassland Conservation Area, this is such an opportunity. Hunters and conservationists need to stand up, be heard and help protect 2 million acres of grassland and wetland habitat.

The proposed Dakota Grassland Conservation Area targets 1.7 million acres of grasslands and 240,000 acres of wetlands for conservation protection via U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service easements in the Prairie Pothole Region of South Dakota, North Dakota and eastern Montana. The goal is to promote profitable farming and ranching in harmony with wildlife conservation, but it won’t happen without your help.

Please send a brief note in full support of the proposed Dakota Grassland Conservation Area to dgca_comments@fws.gov. Here are a couple of example emails:

I am a hunter and understand the value of critical wildlife habitat. I am in full support of the Dakota Grasslands Conservation project. – John Q. Sample

I support accelerating conservation in the endangered ecosystem known as the Prairie Pothole Region. – John Q. Sample

Your emailed support will help future generations of hunters enjoy the thrill of flushing roosters and prairie grouse, support critical habitats for waterfowl production and the dozens of other grassland and wetland dependant birds, and help stewardship-minded landowners.

Thanks for your support of Pheasants Forever and wildlife habitat conservation!

The D.C. Minute is written by Dave Nomsen, Pheasants Forever’s Vice President of Government Relations.

"Open Fields" funding allows states with existing walk in programs - like Kansas - to improve them, and states without such programs to implement them.

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack today announced an additional $8 million is available to create or expand existing public access programs or provide incentives to increase access to hunting and fishing and to improve wildlife habitat on enrolled lands. The funding is being provided through the Voluntary Public Access and Habitat Incentive Program (VPA-HIP), better known as “Open Fields.”

Last October, 17 state public access programs (i.e. walk in hunting) received grants totaling $11.76 million through Open Fields funding. Secretary Vilsack stated that public access programs in 2011 will receive additional grants totaling $8 million toward the total of $50 million that is available for three years through Open Fields. Many of the grants funded in 2010, the first year of the program’s implementation, were for multiple years and will receive continued funding in 2011.

Our nation’s hunting and fishing traditions are inextricably tied to the health of America’s privately owned farm, ranch and forest lands, and we appreciate Secretary Vilsack’s commitment to American sportsmen and our shared natural resources through his support of continued funding of Open Fields.

The D.C. Minute is written by Dave Nomsen, Pheasants Forever’s Vice President of Government Affairs

USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack met with landowners at Pheasant Fest last year in Des Moines. The Secretary will be back to Pheasant Fest later this month.

USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack will help Pheasants Forever kick off National Pheasant Fest 2011.

Secretary Vilsack will join Pheasants Forever staff for the ribbon cutting ceremony to open the doors to National Pheasant Fest 2011 at 1PM on Friday, January 28th at the Qwest Center in Omaha, Nebraska. Shortly after, at 1:15PM, the Secretary will visit the Landowner Help Room on the Pheasant Fest show floor where he will be making a CRP announcement.

Pheasants Forever is very pleased to welcome Secretary Vilsack to National Pheasant Fest for the second year in a row, and we’re excited to hear what he has to say about CRP in this the 25th anniversary year of the program.

The D.C. Minute is written by Dave Nomsen, Pheasants Forever’s Vice President of Government Affairs

Jason (left) and Dave (right) Nomsen show off some CRP roosters bagged with the help of their Springer, "Little Teddy Roosevelt"

My son Jason can’t recall not having CRP on the landscape.  Chances are the first pheasant he ever shot here in west-central Minnesota over ten years ago was raised on CRP. 

Jason is one of an entire generation of young bird hunters that have benefitted from a robust CRP.  Think about it – literally hundreds of millions of pheasants, tens of millions of ducks, countless prairie grouse and bobwhite quail have found a habitat home the last 25 years through lands enrolled in the Conservation Reserve Program.  Surviving numerous ups and downs, highs and lows, crisis points, etc.; the one constant has been CRP’s wildlife legacy for current and new generations of sportsmen and sportswomen.

A quarter-century ago today (December 23, 1985), President Ronald Reagan signed into law the 1985 Farm Bill containing provisions to establish the Conservation Reserve Program or CRP.  Candidly, the program was originally much more about soil erosion and price support through commodity supply-control than wildlife.  But by the mid-1990’s CRP was telling a different story.  Pheasant populations had exploded, doubling and tripling in size, ducks filling the skies, grouse appearing in places they hadn’t been seen in decades, and on and on.  Wildlife success stories directly attributable to CRP in addition to a suite of environmental benefits including water and air quality improvements, soil erosion protection and more that led the way to CRP reauthorizations in 1996, 2002, and again in 2008.

With each major reauthorization by Congress, CRP has evolved primarily for the good, and today more than 30 million acres are scattered across the agricultural landscaped continuing to provide benefits for generation to come.   CRP has become a much more flexible and targeted program and results continue to justify the investments.  Over the years, CRP has been heralded as keeping farmers and landowners in farming due to the economic stability CRP payments provide.  Rural communities have benefitted from the full motels and restaurants due to hunters presence in CRP areas.

Clearly, CRP has a record as America’s most successful conservation program benefitting wildlife and the environment, farmers and landowners, hunters and conservationists, and all of society.  A 25 year old proven success is worth celebrating today and will serve us well as we prepare for the next 25 years as part of the upcoming 2012 farm bill.

NOTE: If you’d like to help Pheasants Forever fight for CRP in the coming Farm Bill, please check out our Bird Dogs for Habitat Campaign.  Every dollar we raise will be matched to make CRP even more productive for roosters and future hunting opportunities.

An email from you can help give sharp-tailed grouse 2 million acres of critical habitat. PHOTO BY JOHN POLLMANN

DEADLINE EXTENDED TO JANUARY 14th

In this season of giving, please consider helping all the critters that depend upon healthy grassland and wetland complexes throughout the Dakotas and Montana.  A U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service proposal is poised to give a huge habitat boost with a little help from you. 

The proposed Dakota Grassland Conservation Area (DGCA) has targeted more than 240,000 acres of wetlands and 1.7 million acres of grasslands for conservation.  The goal is to promote profitable farming and ranching in harmony with wildlife conservation, but it won’t happen without your help.  Please send a brief note in full support of the DGCA to dgca_comments@fws.gov  

Your emailed support before December 31, 2010 will help future generations of hunters enjoy the thrill of flushing roosters and prairie grouse, support critical habitats for waterfowl production and the dozens of other grassland and wetland dependant birds, and help stewardship-minded landowners. 

Thanks for your support!  

The D.C. Minute is written by Dave Nomsen, Pheasants Forever’s Vice President of Government Relations.