Vilsack to announce expanded sage-grouse program
August 27, 2015 |03:11 PM
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack is announcing today that USDA will launch a four-year, $211 million conservation strategy to benefit the greater sage-grouse.
USDA has been attempting since 2010 to help farmers and ranchers improve sage-grouse habitat so that the bird will not be placed on the Endangered Species List.
Vilsack is scheduled to announce in Portland, Ore., that the strategy, known as Sage Grouse Initiative 2.0, will help ranchers make conservation improvements to their land to benefit the iconic bird and agricultural operations in 11 Western states.
“The Sage Grouse Initiative has proven itself as a model for how wildlife and agriculture can coexist and thrive in harmony, and that is why we are announcing steps today that will expand this important initiative throughout the life of the 2014 farm bill,” Vilsack said in a news release.
“I applaud America’s ranchers for their initiative in improving habitats and outcomes for sage-grouse and other wildlife, and for their recognition that these efforts are also good for cattle, good for ranching operations, and good for America’s rural economy.”
Since its launch in 2010, public and private partners engaged in the initiative have conserved 4.4 million acres, an area twice the size of Yellowstone National Park, using voluntary and incentive-based approaches for conservation, USDA said in a news release.
Between 2010 and 2014, USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) invested $296.5 million into SGI, which partners matched with an additional $198 million.
By the end of 2018, with implementation of the strategy, NRCS and partners will invest approximately $760 million and conserve 8 million acres, an area more than seven times the size of the Great Salt Lake.
NRCS leaders from California, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, North Dakota, Oregon, South Dakota, Utah, Washington and Wyoming worked with conservation partners to develop the four-year strategy, USDA said.
The wildfires devastating Western communities also impact habitat for wildlife like the sage-grouse, USDA noted.
Under the SGI 2.0 strategy, NRCS will focus on reducing the threat of wildfire and spread of invasive grasses after fires to restore wildlife habitat and quality livestock forage. The strategy will also focus on removing encroaching conifers, protecting rangeland from exurban development and cultivation, protecting moderately moist habitats like wet meadows, and reducing fence collisions.
While in Oregon, Vilsack will meet with conservation partners, ranchers, and government officials who have worked to conserve sage-grouse habitat.
“The Sage Grouse Initiative is making a difference because private landowners voluntarily work with us to produce results on the ground,” Vilsack said. “The decisions Western ranchers and other private landowners make every day about what to do on their land will continue to have a critical impact on sage-grouse.”
Howard Vincent, president and CEO of Pheasants Forever & Quail Forever, praised USDA’s announcement.
“Private landowners are the cornerstone for wildlife habitat conservation efforts in our country,” Vincent said.
“Under the leadership of USDA, the newly announced NRCS investments for working lands in the West will continue to support the livelihoods of ranchers and producers, while providing extraordinary benefits for sage-grouse and other wildlife. SGI continues to thrive as a model for wildlife conservation, and we are thrilled to support NRCS and its partners as we move forward in restoring this iconic upland bird.”
Earlier this year, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, a division of the Interior Department, determined the bi-state sage-grouse, a subpopulation along the California-Nevada border, did not require listing because of the conservation efforts of NRCS and partners proactively working to conserve the species.
USDA has been attempting since 2010 to help farmers and ranchers improve sage-grouse habitat so that the bird will not be placed on the Endangered Species List.
Vilsack is scheduled to announce in Portland, Ore., that the strategy, known as Sage Grouse Initiative 2.0, will help ranchers make conservation improvements to their land to benefit the iconic bird and agricultural operations in 11 Western states.
“The Sage Grouse Initiative has proven itself as a model for how wildlife and agriculture can coexist and thrive in harmony, and that is why we are announcing steps today that will expand this important initiative throughout the life of the 2014 farm bill,” Vilsack said in a news release.
“I applaud America’s ranchers for their initiative in improving habitats and outcomes for sage-grouse and other wildlife, and for their recognition that these efforts are also good for cattle, good for ranching operations, and good for America’s rural economy.”
Since its launch in 2010, public and private partners engaged in the initiative have conserved 4.4 million acres, an area twice the size of Yellowstone National Park, using voluntary and incentive-based approaches for conservation, USDA said in a news release.
Between 2010 and 2014, USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) invested $296.5 million into SGI, which partners matched with an additional $198 million.
By the end of 2018, with implementation of the strategy, NRCS and partners will invest approximately $760 million and conserve 8 million acres, an area more than seven times the size of the Great Salt Lake.
NRCS leaders from California, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, North Dakota, Oregon, South Dakota, Utah, Washington and Wyoming worked with conservation partners to develop the four-year strategy, USDA said.
The wildfires devastating Western communities also impact habitat for wildlife like the sage-grouse, USDA noted.
Under the SGI 2.0 strategy, NRCS will focus on reducing the threat of wildfire and spread of invasive grasses after fires to restore wildlife habitat and quality livestock forage. The strategy will also focus on removing encroaching conifers, protecting rangeland from exurban development and cultivation, protecting moderately moist habitats like wet meadows, and reducing fence collisions.
While in Oregon, Vilsack will meet with conservation partners, ranchers, and government officials who have worked to conserve sage-grouse habitat.
“The Sage Grouse Initiative is making a difference because private landowners voluntarily work with us to produce results on the ground,” Vilsack said. “The decisions Western ranchers and other private landowners make every day about what to do on their land will continue to have a critical impact on sage-grouse.”
Howard Vincent, president and CEO of Pheasants Forever & Quail Forever, praised USDA’s announcement.
“Private landowners are the cornerstone for wildlife habitat conservation efforts in our country,” Vincent said.
“Under the leadership of USDA, the newly announced NRCS investments for working lands in the West will continue to support the livelihoods of ranchers and producers, while providing extraordinary benefits for sage-grouse and other wildlife. SGI continues to thrive as a model for wildlife conservation, and we are thrilled to support NRCS and its partners as we move forward in restoring this iconic upland bird.”
Earlier this year, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, a division of the Interior Department, determined the bi-state sage-grouse, a subpopulation along the California-Nevada border, did not require listing because of the conservation efforts of NRCS and partners proactively working to conserve the species.
