NRCS staff in Vermont announced last week that they have $850,000 to assist in forest land planning and management. The deadline for applications for this round of funding is June 18. "Many [species of fish and wildlife] depend on large contiguous forest blocks," says Rob Allen, Acting State Conservationist for NRCS. "These vast forests are at risk, however, with tracts of land being subdivided and sold."

The Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP) is extending 2010 funding for a second round of applications, due by June 11. "The purpose [of CSP] is to reward good stewards for high levels of stewardship they are already doing, and to encourage further adoption of new conservation activities," says Heather Wetzstein, program staff at the Vermont state office.

Eligible projects for CSP include (but are not limited to): crop tree release enhancement, extending existing buffers, and patch harvesting. Wetzstein estimates there will be funding for an additional 10,000 acres of enhancement work in Vermont, and funds for contracts will be available in mid-August to mid-September.

For more information on WHIP, click here.
For more information on CSP, click here.

Current Use Reforms Vetoed by Governor Douglas
Reforms that have been pushed through the Legislature over the past six months were vetoed yesterday by Governor Douglas. The legislation would have made significant changes to the tax assistance program the state provides to landowners with working farms and forestland.

The Governor's refusal to sign the bill into law frustrates an effort that some legislators, like Rep. Allison Clarkson, have been working on for more than a year.

The bill would have met the requirements for cost-savings requested by the Vermont Recovery and Reinvestment Act which was passed last year through a number of changes to the Current Use program. Chief among those changes was a $129-per-landowner, one-time surcharge for those enrolled in the program, which would have achieved much of the savings required.

Also proposed in the bill were changes to the punitive measures assessed on landowners who withdraw from the program early, or violate the contract required by the state to enroll. A committee to study further changes to the Current Use program would have been established and ordered to convene this summer.