Program Guidance for the 2009 New Jersey Wildlife Habitat Incentives
Program (WHIP)
The information presented below is based on program rules
developed under the 2002 Farm Bill. With passage of the 2008 Farm Bill in May,
statutory language changes mean new program rules need to be written by the
Department. These rule changes may impact how New Jersey implements this
program. The 2009 program information will be
updated after consultation with the State Technical Committee once the
new rules are approved for use and prior to any 2009 funding decisions. All
applicants will have ample opportunity to review the rule changes and contract
terms and will be required to comply with all applicable rules and requirements
in place at the time of contract obligation.
Agricultural producers, eligible land owners and land managers may apply
for conservation practices that:
- are included in an approved Conservation Plan; and
- will achieve a positive environmental benefit; and
- are listed in this 2009 Program Guidance.
If an application is approved based on available funding, NRCS will
develop a draft contract listing the payments to be made upon successful
practice completion. Applicants will have ample opportunity to review
the proposed payments prior to contract signature.
No practices can be
installed until the final contract is approved by NRCS, unless a waiver
is granted by the State Conservationist.
Although based on the average cost to implement typical conservation
practices in NJ, practice payments are made regardless of actual cost to
the contract holder.
Each installed practice must meet the minimum design requirements in
the applicable NRCS Conservation Practice Standard in order to receive
the contract payment. The payment will be based on the extent (amount) of the conservation
practice actually performed, not the cost.
To apply, applicants must complete a program application and the
Conservation Planning Worksheet available
below. Applicants
must also meet all applicable Highly Erodible Land and Adjusted Gross
Income provisions, and establish or update all farm and persons records
before NRCS will process their application. Details can be found in the
Applying for Federal Farm Conservation Programs available
below.
Current payment rates are found in the Schedule of Program Payments
on the NJ Conservation Programs web page.
Information about conservation practices can be found in the electronic
Field Office Technical Guide or on practice
job sheets available through your local NRCS office/USDA Service Center.
The following documents require
Adobe Acrobat.
WHIP
2009 Program Guidance (40 kb)
Applying
for Federal Farm Conservation Programs (54 kb)
Conservation
Planning Worksheet (35 kb)
What
Is a Conservation Plan? (162 kb)
¿Qué
es un Plan de Conservación? (211kb)
Eligible applications will be ranked based on a system developed by
the State Technical Committee, with the highest ranked applications in
each pool selected for contract development. Program payments are made
according to the practice schedule in the Conservation Contract and are
based on the extent of the practice performed.
Practices must restore, enhance or create habitat under one of the following
six areas.
Minimum site criteria and eligible practices are listed under each category.
(Practices are described in an alphabetized
list provided after the six category listings.) To be ranked as a wildlife
project, the primary purpose of the project must be for wildlife conservation.
- Wetland Areas - Drained hydric soils or
degraded wetland areas with restoration or enhancement potential, greater
than 1 acre but less than 50 acres in size, and associated adjacent
transition areas. Eligible practices
are:
- Brush Management
- Filter Strip
- Fish Passage
- Riparian Forest Buffer
- Riparian Herbaceous Cover
- Shallow Water for Wildlife
- Stream Channel Stabilization
- Stream Habitat Improvement
- Streambank Protection
- Structure for Water Control
- Tree and Shrub Establishment
- Underground Outlet
- Wetland Enhancement
- Wetland Restoration
- Wetland Wildlife Habitat Management
- Wildlife Watering Facility
- Disturbance Dependant Habitat
- Minimum 10 acre areas capable of supporting Atlantic white cedar forests,
scrub/ shrub habitats or fire dependent plant communities where natural or
human-induced disturbance is required to create conditions suitable for
regeneration or maintenance of the habitat. An approved Forest Management
Plan is required for any applicant area in the Pinelands. Eligible
practices are:
- Brush Management
- Early Succession Habitat Development
- Forest Site Preparation
- Forest Stand Improvement
- Land Clearing
- Prescribed Burning
- Restoration of Declining Habitats
- Tree and Shrub Establishment
- Upland Wildlife Habitat Management
- Wetland Wildlife Habitat Management
- Community-Supported Wildlife:
Minimum 3 acre isolated habitat areas not typically associated with cropland
where partnerships have been established to plan, implement and maintain
natural landscapes using native species to provide significant wildlife
habitat opportunities. Eligible practices
are:
- Brush Management
- Early Succession Habitat Development
- Fish Passage
- Restoration of Declining Habitats
- Riparian Forest Buffer
- Riparian Herbaceous Cover
- Shallow Water for Wildlife
- Stream Channel Stabilization
- Stream Habitat Improvement Streambank Protection
- Tree and Shrub Establishment
- Upland Wildlife Habitat Management
- Wetland Enhancement
- Wetland Restoration
- Wetland Wildlife Habitat Management
- Wildlife Watering Facility
- Bog Turtle: Current or abandoned pasture areas,
with hydric soils, a stream or ditch adjacent or through the site, and a
known bog turtle population on or immediately adjacent to the site. Eligible
practices are:
- Brush Management
- Fence
- Pasture & Hayland Planting
- Shallow Water for Wildlife
- Use Exclusion
- Wetland Enhancement
- Wetland Restoration
- Wetland Wildlife Habitat Management
- Early Successional Habitat:
Minimum 20 acres of contiguous grassland habitat or potential habitat under
the control of the applicant. Eligible
practices are:
- Brush Management
- Early Succession Habitat Development
- Field Border
- Filter Strip
- Hedgerow Planting
- Land Clearing
- Pasture and Hay Planting
- Prescribed Burning
- Prescribed Grazing
- Restoration of Declining Habitats
- Shallow Water for Wildlife
- Upland Wildlife Habitat Management
- Delaware Bay Region: Project sites
within Salem, Cumberland, or Cape May counties that address a declining
species habitat and are at least 3 acres in size. Eligible
practices are:
- Brush Management
- Early Succession Habitat Development
- Filter Strip
- Obstruction Removal
- Riparian Forest Buffer
- Riparian Herbaceous Habitats
- Restoration of Declining Habitats
- Shallow Water for Wildlife
- Stream Habitat Improvement
- Streambank Protection
- Upland Wildlife Habitat Management
- Wetland Wildlife Habitat Management
- Wildlife Watering Facility
Brush Management
Remove non-native, invasive or exotic plants to restore native herbaceous cover
and enhance wildlife habitat.
Early Successional Habitat Development
Establish a minimum of 20 contiguous acres of permanent native herbaceous
species to provide habitat for ground nesting birds.
Fence
Install permanent fencing to facilitate livestock grazing in bog turtle habitat
areas.
Field Border
Establish a strip of permanent vegetation at the edge or around the perimeter of
a field to provide wildlife food and cover.
Filter Strip
Establish herbaceous vegetation in a strip between cropland and sensitive areas
to create herbaceous habitat for beneficial insects.
Fish Passage
Enhance the ability of native fish to navigate upstream and downstream past
barriers through the modification or removal of man-made obstructions in the
stream.
Forest Site Preparation
Treat areas to improve site conditions for establishing trees and/or shrubs to
encourage natural regeneration of desirable woody plants.
Forest Stand Improvement
Manipulate species composition, stand structure, and stocking density by cutting
or killing selected trees and understory vegetation to improve wildlife habitat.
Hedgerow Planting
Establish dense vegetation in a linear design to provide food, cover and
corridors for terrestrial wildlife.
Land Clearing
Remove trees, stumps and other vegetation in order to benefit certain wildlife
species, such as removing hedges for management of area-sensitive grassland
birds.
Obstruction Removal (beach habitats only)
Remove and dispose of structures, vegetation, or other landscape features
necessary to facilitate threatened and endangered species access to beach
nesting sites.
Pasture and Hay Planting
Plant adapted forage species to allow livestock grazing in areas inhabited by
bog turtles. Payment is for one planting per pasture area during the life of the
contract.
Prescribed Burning
Apply a controlled fire to a predetermined area in order to control undesirable
vegetation, prepare sites for seeding, improve wildlife habitat, enhance seed
and seedling production, or restore and maintain ecological sites.
Restoration of Declining Habitats
Restore or enhance habitat for targeted rare or declining species on sites that
previously or currently support the rare or declining habitat.
Riparian Forest Buffer
Establish an area of trees and/or shrubs adjacent to water bodies to lower water
temperatures, improve habitat for aquatic organisms, and provide a source of
detritus and large woody debris for aquatic organisms.
Riparian Herbaceous Cover
Establish grasses and forbs tolerant of intermittent flooding or saturated soils
in riparian areas to provide food and shelter for wildlife, to reduce the amount
of sediment and other pollutants, or to help stabilize stream bank and
shorelines.
Shallow Water Management for Wildlife
Create depressions in areas with a suitable hydrologic regime to provide habitat
for wildlife such as shorebirds, waterfowl, wading birds, mammals, fish,
reptiles, amphibians and other species that require shallow water for at least a
part of their life cycle.
Stream Channel Stabilization
Stabilize stream banks to maintain the flow capacity of streams, reduce the
offsite or downstream effects of sediment resulting from bank erosion, and
improve or enhance the stream corridor for fish and wildlife habitat.
Stream Habitat Improvement
Maintain, improve, or restore physical, chemical, and biological functions of a
stream to improve habitat for desired aquatic species and diverse aquatic
communities.
Streambank Protection
Install structural or bio-engineered treatments to stabilize banks of streams or
to improve the stream corridor for fish and wildlife habitat.
Structure for Water Control
Install a structure as part of a wetland enhancement, restoration, or creation
project to control the direction or rate of flow or maintain a desired water
surface elevation.
Tree/Shrub Establishment
Establish woody plants by planting seedlings or cuttings, direct seeding, or
natural regeneration to enhance wildlife habitat.
Underground Outlet
Install an underground conduit to allow water level control in wetland
restoration/creation/enhancement projects.
Upland Wildlife Habitat Management (MGT)
Manage upland habitats that enable movement, or provide shelter, cover, or food
in proper amounts, locations and times to sustain target species that inhabit
uplands during a portion of their life cycle. Mowing, harvesting, or other
disturbances of grasslands are prevented between April 15 and July 15 each year.
Watering Facility
Permanently install a watertight tank, trough, or container to provide wildlife
access to water.
Wetland Enhancement
Modify an existing degraded wetland to provide specific wetland conditions and
functions for targeted species by either hydrologic enhancement or vegetative
enhancement.
Wetland Restoration
Rehabilitate or reestablish a degraded wetland so that the soils, hydrology,
vegetative community, and habitat are a close approximation of the original
natural condition that existed prior to modification.
Wetland Wildlife Habitat Management (MGT)
Maintain, develop, or improve wetland habitat for waterfowl, shorebirds,
fur-bearers, or other wetland dependent or associated flora and fauna.
Contact:
Janice Reid, Assistant State Conservationist for Programs,
(732) 537-6042
< Back to Wildlife Habitat
Incentives Program
Last Modified:
June 30, 2008
| 
About Us
Back to Top