Bootheel Watershed Selected

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Bootheel Watershed Selected for Conservation Security Program Sign Up
COLUMBIA, MO, May 20, 2004 ? The Little River Ditches Watershed in southeastern Missouri has been selected as one of the nation?s 18 priority watersheds that will be used in the fiscal year 2004 Conservation Security Program (CSP) sign-up, USDA?s Natural Resources Conservation Service announced.

?The selection of the Little River Ditches Watershed in this first sign up represents a balance of resource needs, historic stewardship, potential producer eligibility, and the technology and adequate staff needed to successfully implement the program,? said NRCS State Conservationist Roger Hansen. ?Nationally, the selected watersheds reflect a cross-section of land uses, crop regions and landscapes that will test the basic concepts in NRCS? newest conservation program.?

?A sign-up announcement will be published along with the interim final rule in early summer that will detail the specific program requirements within the priority watersheds,? Hansen said.

The Little River Ditches Watershed is located in Bollinger, Cape Girardeau, Scott, Stoddard, Pemiscot, Dunklin and New Madrid counties in Missouri and parts of Craighead, Mississippi and Poinsett counties in Arkansas.

Nationally, the fiscal year 2004 CSP budget of $41.4 million will allow NRCS to write 3,000 to 5,000 contracts. The contracts will be determined in a national selection process that will be described in the sign-up notice.

?Agricultural producers in the Little River Ditches Watershed have been protecting our soil and water resources for years,? Hansen said. ?Now they will be rewarded for that stewardship, and will become the models for future CSP participants. It?s a bright new day for conservation, and I?m delighted that Missouri is part of this exciting first sign-up.?

CSP is a voluntary program that supports ongoing conservation stewardship of agricultural working lands and enhances the condition of America?s natural resources.

Additional information about CSP, including the Federal Register notices, public comments and frequently asked questions, is available at http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/programs/csp.