Greater Sage-Grouse Part of Innovative Private Land Conservation to Benefit Agriculture and Wildlife
Boise, Idaho – USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service is making available about $50 million this year in financial assistance to partner with agricultural producers who want to restore and protect habitat for seven focus species, including greater sage-grouse. Conservation efforts for sage grouse are part of Working Lands for Wildlife (WLFL), an innovative partnership that supports struggling landscapes and strengthens agricultural operations.
“Ranching, Farming, and Wildlife habitat all in synch with one another bring many economical and sustainable land benefits not only for the wildlife but also the landowners,” said Curtis Elke, NRCS state conservationist in Idaho. “As has been often said, what is good for the Sage Grouse is good for the rancher.”
This year, NRCS will invest about $40 million on habitat restoration and protection for the sage grouse, the umbrella species of the sagebrush landscape. Conservation efforts to restore and protect sagebrush led the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) to determine in September that protections under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) were not warranted. Since 2010, NRCS and conservation partners have worked with ranchers to make conservation improvements to 4.4 million acres of sagebrush habitat, benefitting sage grouse and 350 other kinds of wildlife, including mule deer, elk, pronghorn and golden eagles.
With the support of conservation partners and ranchers, NRCS launched the Sage Grouse Initiative in 2010. Those efforts became the model for Working Lands For Wildlife, which began two years later.
“Working Lands for Wildlife helps land managers integrate wildlife-friendly measures into their working lands and also ensures they can keep those lands working well into the future,” Elke said. “In Idaho we will have about $2.4 million dollars for this initiative available through our Environmental Quality Incentives, Agricultural Conservation Easement and Conservation Stewardship programs. We also provide an array of technical assistance for landowners who want to improve the overall health and productivity of their farms and ranches.”
NRCS financial assistance covers part of the cost to implement conservation practices. Interested landowners are encouraged to contact their local NRCS field office.