New Practice Available to Landowners Improves Duck Nesting Habitat

A new duck nesting habitat practice (CP37) that enrolls wetlands and associated uplands into the Conservation Reserve Program is available to landowners after Oct. 1.

CP37, administered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Farm Services Agency, allocates 100,000 acres in five states - Iowa, Minnesota, Montana, South Dakota and North Dakota. North Dakota received 40,000 of the 100,000 acre allocation.

"Land may be enrolled in CRP under this practice on a continuous basis until the 100,000 acre allocation is reached," said Kevin Kading, private land section leader for the North Dakota Game and Fish Department. "There is no restriction on the total acreage one landowner may enroll in CP37."

Eligible land includes cropland within areas identified as having greater than or equal to 25 breeding duck pairs per square mile. To be eligible, the land must include wetlands and adjacent upland acreage. Up to 10 acres of adjacent upland acreage can be enrolled for every one acre of wetland. CRP contracts can be for a period of 10 to 15 years.

All wetlands on enrolled acres must be restored to their natural state, Kading said. FSA will provide 75 percent of the cost of restoring hydrology. In addition, FSA will also provide cost share for up to 50 percent of the cost to establish appropriate nesting cover.

The North Dakota Game and Fish Department will provide up to 50 percent of the cost of grass seed, as well as additional incentives for landowners who allow public access through the Department's Private Land Open To Sportsman program. Other partners, such as Ducks Unlimited and the Natural Resources Trust, will also provide incentives to landowners enrolling land into the new practice.

Landowners interested in this new practice should contact their county FSA office or the North Dakota Game and Fish Department for more information.