CUSTER COUNTY – The USDA has announced a new habitat conservation program for Custer and surrounding counties, according to a statement released by the USDA.
Applications are now open for the Upland Wildlife State Acres for Wildlife Enhancement (SAFE) conservation program which aims to help area farmers, ranchers, and landowners create and conserve acres for regional species such as the greater prairie chicken, northern bobwhite, sharp-tailed grouse, ring-neck pheasant, and native songbirds and pollinators. Additionally, the program hopes to improve water quality and soil health as well as reduce erosion and sequester carbon on designated acres.
Through the program, applicants will partner with the USDA’s Farm Service Agency and Natural Resources Conservation Service on conservation projects to enhance habitat for threatened species.
If accepted into the program, landowners must offer a minimum tract of 5 acres in exchange for rental payments. There is no maximum number of acres per tract. Cropland must have been planted or considered planted to an agricultural commodity for four of the six crop years ranging from 2012 to 2017 or meet a rotation between 2006 through 2017. Landowners with an expired or expiring Conservation Reserve Program can offer acres for re-enrollment.
Nearby counties to be considered for inclusion in the program are Buffalo, Dawson, Garfield, Lincoln, Sherman, and Valley. More information can be found here. A fact sheet about Conservation Reserve Programs in Nebraska can be found here.
