Environmental Defense Applauds Changes To The Conservation Reserve Program

Environmental Defense today praised the decision by Secretary Johanns of the U.S. Department of Agriculture to selectively reenroll and extend expiring contracts in the Conservation Reserve Program.  Tim Searchinger, who directs Environmental Defense’s work on agricultural conservation programs, offered the following comments:

“The Department deserves great credit for developing an approach to dealing with  expiring CRP contracts that should lead to getting even more environmental benefits from the program.  CRP places grasses and trees on 10% of the country’s cropland and has produced great wildlife, water quality and soil erosion control benefits.  But experts agree that the program can produce even more benefits in the future through better targeting and incentives for managing that land.  Most of the lands in the program are due to expire in 2007 and 2008.  USDA has come up with a balanced approach to reenrolling and extending those contracts in a way that should preserve the most valuable enrollments while making it possible to improve others. 

To realize the benefits of this approach, the Department will need to follow-up with refinements to its selection and management criteria.  Today’s announcement provides an excellent start.”