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~~ <br />~~,,.,,,r.~'"~ <br />~ <br />Unite+d States [)epartr~ent of Ag~iculture • Office ot Camm~rn6catic~s • 1400 Nnc,~endence Avenue, SW <br />WashPngtort; DC ZU250~-130Q • Lloio~: (202) 720•4623 • EmaiL t~c.n+~ws~usc~a.gov • Web: ItttpJlwwwusda,gov <br />Release No. 0371.02 <br />Alisa Harrison (202) 720-4623 <br />USDA RELEASES $323 MILLION FOR CONSERVATION PROGRAMS <br />WASHINGTON, Sept. 6, 2002-Agriculture Secretary Ann M. Veneman today <br />announced the availability of $323 million for the Farmland Protection Program (FPP) <br />and the Wetlands Reserve Program (WRP) administered by the Natural Resources <br />Conservation Service. These funds will allow NRCS to fully implement these programs <br />in fiscal year 2002 as authorized by the 2002 Farm Bill. <br />"These funds will help keep agricultural lands in production and they will help <br />protect our country's valuable wetland ecosystems," Veneman said. <br />Through FPP, $48 million will allow USDA to enter into agreements with states, <br />tribes, local governments and nonprofit organizations-such as land trusts and land <br />resource conservation councils to protect productive farmland through the purchase of <br />conservation easements. USDA provides up to 50 percent of the appraised fair market <br />value of the conservation easement. <br />Through WRP, approximately $275 million will enable NRCS to enroll up to <br />250,000 acres into the program. Landowners who have already submitted WRP <br />applications to the local NRCS office will be notified when funds are available for their <br />projects. The goal of the program is to achieve the greatest wetland functions and values, <br />along with optimum wildlife habitat, on every acre enrolled in the program. <br />The Bush administration remains committed to providing the tools and resources <br />for environmental stewardship to ensure that the land remains both healthy and <br />productive. The 2002 Farm Bill represents an unprecedented inveshnent in conservation <br />on America's private lands, nearly $13 billion over the next six years. <br />Detailed information on these and other conservation programs authorized in the <br />2002 Farm Bill is available on the Web at <br />http://www.nres.usda. ~ v/pro ~rams/farmbi1U2002/products.html. <br />Farmland Protection Program state-by-state funding list: <br />State Funding State Funding State Funding <br />Arizona 1,681,200 Kentucky 2,052,700 Ohio 1,442,800 <br />