Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack this week announced the availability of $40 million to help ranchers and other partners in 11 western states restore and protect sagebrush habitat for greater sage-grouse on privately-owned land. This investment is part of USDA's four-year, $211 million Sage Grouse Initiative 2.0 through the Working Lands for Wildlife partnership.
USDA's Natural Resources Conservation Service uses the Sage Grouse Initiative to build on the success of $296.5 million invested with farmers and ranchers for sage grouse habitat conservation from 2010-2014. The assistance helps ranchers enhance sagebrush habitat by making conservation improvements like removal of invading conifers and invasive grasses that also improve grazing operations. The partnership also helps ranchers protect other critical habitat, such as wet meadows, by enrolling land into voluntary conservation easements.
Conservation efforts on private lands work. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service determined in September 2015 that the sage grouse population was healthy enough that it did not warrant protections under the Endangered Species Act - the result of the unprecedented collaboration in public and private rangeland restoration.
In addition to the Sage Grouse Initiative, Vilsack also announced more than $10 million available in 2016 to support six other WLFW initiatives for focus species across the country including the New England cottontail, southwestern willow flycatcher, golden-winged warbler, gopher tortoise, bog turtle and lesser prairie-chicken.
By participating in WLFW, land managers also gain greater predictability under the ESA. Once enrolled, they may continue implementing their conservation actions without fear of additional regulations.
NRCS financial assistance covers part of the cost to implement conservation practices. Interested landowners are encouraged to contact their local USDA service center at http://offices.sc.egov.usda.gov/locator/app?agency=nrcs.
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