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#05-208 October 3, 2005

Three Conservation Watesheds Chosen For Conservation Program

Three South Carolina watersheds were among more than 330 across the nation invited to participate in a federal program designed to reward farmers for long-term stewardship. Sign-ups for the Conservation Security Program will begin in early fiscal year 2006.

Farmers in the Lower Pee Dee, Little Pee Dee and Lumber River (all sharing acreage with North Carolina) watersheds will be invited to apply. The watershed areas include parts of Chesterfield, Darlington, Dillon, Florence, Georgetown, Horry, Lee, Marion, Marlboro and Williamsburg counties. Total acreage included in the designated watershed areas is 2.1 million. This includes nearly 400,000 acres of prime farmland.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture Natural Resources Conservation Service will offer local workshops in the selected watersheds to more fully explain the program to interested potential participants. The Conservation Security Program will continue to be offered each year, on a rotational basis, in as many watersheds as funding allows. For more information on the Conservation Security Program, visit http://www.sc.nrcs.usda.gov/programs/CSP2006.html or call your local Natural Resources Conservation Service office.

Eligible participants will be enrolled in one of three categories, depending on the extent of conservation treatment in place on their farm or ranch. Payments will be based in part on existing conservation treatment as well as their willingness to undertake additional environmental enhancements.

"The Conservation Security Program payments for demonstrable long-term stewardship will reward many of those who undertook conservation on their own initiative and who care for the resources we all share," said Walter W. Douglas, state conservationist with the Natural Resources Conservation Service.

Von Snelgrove, conservation districts chief with the S.C. Department of Natural Resources (DNR), said the Conservation Security Program is designed to reward the best conservationists and motivate the rest. "The voluntary program provides financial and technical assistance to promote the conservation and improvement of soil, water, air, energy, and plant and animal life on Tribal and private working lands," he said.

"Working lands include cropland, grassland, improved pasture, as well as forested land that is an incidental part of an agriculture operation." The Natural Resources Conservation Service held the first Conservation Security Program sign-up in 2004. With the announcement of the 2006 Conservation Security Program, the number of watersheds enrolled totals 330 across the nation, covering 250 million acres that have been eligible for the program.

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