| WASHINGTON, Aug. 4, 2004—Agriculture
Secretary Ann M. Veneman today announced $350,000 in Wildlife Habitat Incentives
Program (WHIP) funds to protect habitat of sage grouse at Parker Mountain,
Utah. “This Administration is committed to providing quality
habitat for fish and wildlife,” said Veneman. “Landowners
will use the funds for brush management, reseeding, water development
and wildlife habitat management on approximately 104,000 acres.”
The sage grouse, a bird native to the Great Plains and western United
States, has seen a dramatic 90 percent decline in population over the
past two decades (records have been kept since 1985). Due to this decline,
the Natural Resources Conservation Service and other federal agencies
are supporting voluntary habitat enhancements to reverse the decline.
WHIP, a voluntary conservation program administered by the Natural
Resources Conservation Service, provides technical and financial assistance
to landowners and others to develop upland, wetland, riparian and aquatic
habitat areas on their property. The program provides full flexibility
to landowners, offering one-year agreements, 5- to 10-year agreements
and 15-year or longer agreements. USDA announced earlier this year that
$27.2 million in fiscal year 2004 funding was available for WHIP projects
nationwide.
Previously, Utah landowners provided 1,600
acres of habitat management for the sage grouse using $25,000 in WHIP
funding.
Additional information on WHIP is online at http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/programs/whip.
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