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1 voluntarily enroll eligible land in 10-year, 15-year, 30-year, and permanent contracts. <br />2 The state will pay additional bonuses to landowners who enroll land in 30-year and <br />3 permanent agreements. Cost sharing will be available for installation of forested <br />4 riparian buffers, grassed filter strips, wetlands restoration practices, water control <br />5 structures, livestock exclusion, and remote livestock watering in order to increase the <br />6 efficiency of enrolled practices. The program is currently available to property owners <br />7 with land in the Neuse, Tar-Pamlico and Chowan river basins and the Jordan Lake <br />8 watersheds.ze <br />9 <br />10 4. Wetlands Reserve Program IWRP). The Wetlands Reserve Program offers landowners <br />11 the opportunity to protect, restore, and enhance wetlands on their property. The NRCS <br />12 provides technical and financial support to help landowners with their wetland <br />13 restoration efforts. The NRCS goal is to achieve the greatest wetland functions and <br />14 values, along with optimum wildlife habitat, on every acre enrolled in the program. The <br />15 WRP offers landowners three options: permanent easements, 30-year easements, and <br />16 restoration cost-share agreements of minimum 10-year duration. <br />17 <br />18 5. Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP). This program provides a source of <br />19 funding for nutrient management systems. The program offers technical, financial, and <br />20 educational assistance in designated priority areas to install or implement structural, <br />21 vegetative, and management practices called for in five to ten year contracts for most <br />22 agricultural land uses. Orange County farmers received $360,000 from this program <br />23 over the last four years. <br />24 <br />25 6. Wildlife Habitat Incentives Program (WHIP). This program encourages creation of high <br />26 quality wildlife habitats that support wildlife populations of national, state, tribal and <br />27 local significance by providing technical and financial assistance to landowners and <br />28 others to develop upland, wetland, riparian, and aquatic habitat areas on their property. <br />29 <br />30 There are numerous other training and cost-share programs administered by the Cooperative <br />31 Extension Service stafF, Soil and Water Conservation District stafF. Agriculture support stafF also <br />32 provide training to local farm groups such as the Cattleman Association, Farm Bureau and <br />33 others. These programs should be continued and when possible expanded. <br />zs CREP is listed here under federal programs, although it is partially funded by Clean Water Management <br />Funds and administered by North Carolina Division of Soil and Water Conservation. <br />Draft 6/1/2009 Opportunities for Enhancing Agriculture in Orange County 32 <br />