Updated.The Natural Resources Conservation Service, a division of the USDA, has announced a pair of programs aimed to help Mississippi Flyway migratory birds, who are being negatively impacted by conditions along the Gulf due to the Deepwater Horizon oil leak. The Migratory Bird Habitat Initiative Project is designed to lessen the pressure on species affected by the temporary loss of marshes and wetlands because of the oily conditions.

The initiative will be available in selected counties and parishes in Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, and Texas.It is being offered to agricultural landowners, and people already involved in the Wetlands Restoration Program. In Missouri, the Bootheel counties, and a strip of counties along the western border and the Missouri River are eligible :  Bates, Bollinger, Butler, Cape Girardeau, Cole, Cooper, Dunklin, Johnson, Lafayette, Mississippi, Moniteau, New Madrid, Pemiscot, Ripley, Saline, Scott, Stoddard and Vernon. Around $1.9 million, covering 150,000 acres was earmarked in the federal farm bill.

NRCS will improve habitat conditions and food sources for migratory birds likely to be impacted by the conditions in the Gulf of Mexico. This initiative will be delivered through two components: one component will be available on private agricultural lands and the second on Wetlands Reserve Program (WRP) easement lands. NRCS will be working in cooperation with private landowners and other partners to establish habitat and food sources as well as improve the overall habitat management on participating lands.

If you think you might qualify, please contact the NRCS office serving your county. Look in the phone book under “U.S. Government, Department of Agriculture,” or access this website: http://offices.usda.gov/

Key Practices

Component 1:
Early Successional Habitat Establishment and Management (647)

Components 1 and 2:
Shallow Water Development and Management (646)
Wetland Wildlife Habitat Management (644)

Component 1

Agricultural Lands
Financial and technical assistance will be available to provide feeding, loafing and resting areas for migratory birds. NRCS intends to offer payment incentives to landowners willing to flood existing farmed wetlands, prior converted croplands, or other lands that can provide immediate habitat for these species. Rice fields are particularly suited for this initiative. Aquiculture farms (e.g., catfish and crayfish) that have been abandoned or that could be modified or managed to provide additional habitat are also a focus, since they can easily be flooded and manipulated.

Habitat Priority Areas
This component of the initiative applies to private agricultural lands within and adjacent to the Flyways that enter the Gulf of Mexico. Participating States have identified priority counties using aquaculture and rice field data, with the main focus being within the Mississippi Alluvial Valley and the Chenier Plain in Louisiana and Texas.

Component 2

WRP Easement Land
NRCS is primarily responsible for maintenance and management activities on land subject to a WRP easement, but may authorize the landowner or someone other than the landowner to perform the maintenance and management activities through a compatible use authorization, a landowner contract, a contribution agreement, or a Federal contract. NRCS has the authority to determine management actions necessary to meet the wildlife objectives of the easement. The initial WRP phase will focus on:

1. Addressing food habitat needs for species expected to be most significantly impacted by the oil spill that are likely to occur on WRP easements;
2. Providing habitat features that are appropriate for the target area;
3. Providing management that is not currently part of existing management regimes or improve the management of projects with existing infrastructure; and
4. Avoiding adverse impacts to existing wetland habitat on the easement area.

Habitat Priority Areas
NRCS has an inventory of WRP easement lands on which to develop moist soil management plans for the benefit of the target species. State Conservationists will determine whether they implement this initiative through a cooperative agreement with a partner, through contracts with the landowners, through Federal contract, or through a combination of these instruments. In addition to the habitat benefits realized during the contract period, NRCS anticipates a percentage of landowners will continue with the moist soil management beyond the length of the contract period. At the State level, NRCS will seek WRP landowners or partners who may be interested in managing or improving the management of the WRP lands.

Selection Criteria for Components 1 and 2

Projects will be selected based on the following criteria, listed in priority order. The point system for each habitat type will be established at the State level. Projects will only be evaluated against other offers in the same priority area:

1. Provide shallow water (0-4 inches depth) and mudflats for shorebirds (e.g. sandpipers, dowitchers) from July through October.
2. Provide shallow water on moist soils for early migrating waterfowl (e.g., blue-winged teal) from August through September.
3. Provide open, deep water habitats for overwintering diving ducks (e.g. scaup, redheads, canvasbacks) from October through March.
4. Provide shallow water (< 12” depth) on moist soils for overwintering dabbling ducks (e.g. mallards, pintails) from October through March.
5. Provide shallow water on moist soils for breeding and brood-rearing habitats for resident waterfowl (e.g. wood ducks, mottled ducks) and marsh birds from March through August.