Excerpt
NEW conservation policies were adopted by Congress late in 1985 as part of the Food Security Act. These initiatives seek to curb rising levels of soil erosion on the nation's cropland. The Palouse region of eastern Washington and northern Idaho is among the 10 most erodible areas in the United States. Thus far, implementation of the new federal conservation initiatives in the Palouse has been disappointing.
The lynchpins of the new conservation law are the conservation reserve and cross-compliance provisions. The goal of the conservation reserve program is to remove 45 million acres of highly erodible cropland from production and to place it in conservation use over the next decade. To qualify, landowners must submit bids for rental payments on eligible cropland to the Agricultural Stabilization and Conservation Service. Landowners may receive a maximum of $50,000 annually if they can enroll in the program. The first round of bids was conducted during a 10-day period that began March 3, 1986.
A short implementation fuse
Explaining the complex details of the program to landowners in the Palouse required a herculean effort that had to be accomplished in less than two months. One Soil Conservation Service …
Footnotes
Frederick Steiner is an associate professor of regional planning and landscape architecture at Washington State University, Pullman, 99164.
- Copyright 1986 by the Soil and Water Conservation Society
This article requires a subscription to view the full text. If you have a subscription you may use the login form below to view the article. Access to this article can also be purchased.