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Deadline for wildfire conservation assistance announced

SPOKANE, Wash., (Aug. 17, 2007) – Washington agricultural producers whose grazing lands were affected by fires this year will have until August 29th to sign up for fire recovery assistance through the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP), USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) announced today.

NRCS is offering to assist private landowners in recovering from documented 2007 wildfires through a $4 per acre, per-year incentive payment. This incentive payment, which can be made for up to two years, is intended to help offset the ranchers’ cost of finding alternative pasture.

“A key requirement of this assistance is that producers must agree to defer grazing on the contracted acres,” said Dave Brown, assistant state conservationist for programs. “This gives rangeland plants a chance to go to seed and regenerate naturally,” he said.

Brown encourages landowners who are interested in this voluntary program to contact their local USDA Service Center. Additional information on EQIP and other conservation programs is available on the Web at: http://www.wa.nrcs.usda.gov under the “Programs” tab.

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