Please join us for a presentation on this program and how it can complement your ongoing conservation work.
When:Thursday, February 15th 2007, 11:00 am – 1:00 pm(lunch provided)
Where:Riveredge Nature Center, 4458 West Hawthorne Drive, Newburg WI
Who:Conservation representatives working in the Milwaukee River Watershed
Reply: Please let us know whether or not you will be able to join us for this event by calling Lynn Broaddus at 414-287-0207, ext 30 or by email at:
Each year, one watershed in Wisconsin is selected as the beneficiary of the federal Conservation Security Program. Through this program, farmers receive payments for putting conservation measures in place that can improve water quality and wildlife habitat. This year, the Milwaukee River Watershed has been selected for the Conservation Security Program (CSP) sign up. Come hear how CSP rewards farmers for their conservation practices, and how you as a conservation leader can make sure the resources you care about benefit from this program. This is a single year opportunity that you won’t want to miss!
The Conservation Security Program (CSP) is the country’s first “green payments” program. Created in the 2002 Farm Bill, CSP rewards farmers for their conservation practices and provides incentives for additional conservation. CSP differs from other farm bill conservation programs because it is a working lands program that rewards a “whole farm” conservation approach. To be in the top tiers of the program, farmers must address water and soil quality as well as wildlife habitat issues on their farms. Since the CSP implementation in 2004, over 600 Wisconsin farmers have enrolled in the program, receiving over $4 million in CSP payments in 2006.
We will discuss how the farmers you work with in the Milwaukee River Watershed can prepare for CSP, how CSP is improving on-farm conservation practices in Wisconsin and nationally, and how the 2007 farm debate may shape CSP’s future.
Wisconsin NRCS staff will discuss how CSP works and how farmers can prepare for the program. Betsy Gillen, District Conservationist for Washington and Ozaukee Counties, will be presenting with John Sippl, Milwaukee River Watershed CSP Team Leader.
Jeanne Merrill of the Michael Fields Agricultural Institute will discuss its work on a five-state evaluation of CSP, the next farm bill debate and its potential impact on CSP’s future.
Sponsored by the Friends of Milwaukee’s Rivers, Natural Resource Conservation Service, Michael Fields Agricultural Institute, and Riveredge Nature Center.
Note: Please feel free to forward this invitation to someone else in your organization if you feel they are the more appropriate contact.
Lynn E. Broaddus, Ph.D., M.B.A
Executive Director
Friends of Milwaukee’s Rivers
1845 N. Farwell Ave, Suite 100
Milwaukee WI 53202
voice: 414-287-0207, ext 30
fax: 414-273-7293
email:
web address: www.mkeriverkeeper.org
