Forest
Stewardship News Release
November
24 , 2004- For Immediate Release
Contact: Allyson
Muth , Phone: 814-863-0401 E-mail: abm173@psu.edu
WHIP Applies to Forest Stewardship Too
The Wildlife Habitat
Incentive Program (WHIP) is one of several Farm Bill programs administered
by the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) of the United States
Department of Agriculture. WHIP is a voluntary program that provides technical
and financial assistance to landowners to improve and protect wildlife
habitat on private lands. Eligible land includes any form of privately
held land (woodlots, farms, gun club lands, or other private open spaces).
WHIP funding is also available on a limited basis for any non-Federal
lands such as municipal, county, or state government lands. WHIP allocates
cost-share monies to landowners for specific practices within each state's
specific wildlife goals and priority areas.
WHIP covers selected practices beneficial to fish and wildlife species,
such as planting warm season grasses or stream bank fencing. NRCS in Pennsylvania
cost-shares up to 75% of the approved practices and emphasizes practices
that create or improve habitats for wildlife species experiencing declining
or reduced populations. On Pennsylvania forestland, protecting and improving
woodcock habitat is a priority.
"WHIP provides an option to fund some of the practices in a Forest Stewardship Plan geared towards wildlife," says Barry Isaacs, Pennsylvania's WHIP Manager. "In fact, in Pennsylvania, it is our priority to cost-share practices in an already existing stewardship plan," rather than just taking in new participants who have had little prior contact with natural resource professionals.
For the 2005 fiscal year there is $170,000 available across the state. Once selected, landowners work with the appropriate NRCS office for duration of the agreement (usually five to ten years). The application process is continuous - submit applications anytime. Congress allocates these funds annually and the states don't know in advance how much they'll receive. However, funding allocations usually follow success: goals reached for priorities and application numbers. In Pennsylvania the demand for WHIP cost share funds has exceeded allocations for private landowners. Land already enrolled in the Conservation Reserve Program, Wetlands Reserve Program, Water Bank Program, Grassland Reserve Program, or Emergency Watershed Protection Program is not eligible for WHIP.
With demand currently so high and with less than a quarter of a million in funding, Pennsylvania NRCS encourages its employees to evaluate and potentially fund applications on hand by December 3. NRCS will hold applications received after this date for the next funding round.
To sign up or for more information on WHIP, contact any USDA Service Center. USDA Service Centers and office locations are in the telephone book under the US Department of Agriculture or on the NRCS Pennsylvania website http://www.pa.nrcs.usda.gov. Specific programmatic information on WHIP is at http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/programs/whip/.
The Pennsylvania Forest Stewardship Program provides publications on a variety of topics related to woodland management for private landowners. For a list of free publications, call 1-800-235-WISE (toll-free), send e-mail to , or write to: Forest Stewardship Program, Forest Resources Extension, The Pennsylvania State University, 7 Ferguson Building, University Park, PA 16802. The Pennsylvania Bureau of Forestry and USDA Forest Service, in partnership with the Penn State's Forest Resources Extension, sponsor the Forest Stewardship Program in Pennsylvania.
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