Wildlife Habitat Incentives Program (WHIP) News Release

Updated 06/11/2008

United States Department of Agriculture

Natural Resources Conservation Service

771 Corporate Drive Suite 210

Lexington, KY 40503

Phone: 859-224-7350

Web: http://www.ky.nrcs.usda.gov

NATURAL RESOURCES CONSERVATION SERVICE ACCEPTS APPLICATIONS FOR WILDLIFE HABITAT INCENTIVES PROGRAM (WHIP)

(Lexington, Ky.) June 11, 2008—USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) is accepting applications for the Wildlife Habitat Incentives Program (WHIP) signup. Landowners may apply for WHIP at any time however; applications received by June 27, 2008 will be evaluated and considered for the 2008 program year. Applications received after that date will be held until the next evaluation period.

WHIP provides landusers an opportunity to improve wildlife habitat. The program provides financial incentives for installing eligible practices on land they own or control. The landuser must devote at least 10 acres to eligible wildlife practices.

In Kentucky, the primary focus of WHIP is to improve early successional and forestland habitats for declining species and other wildlife. Restoring remnant prairies, planting native grasses, shrubs, and trees, implementing wildlife beneficial forest stand improvements, and creating shallow water areas are some of the eligible practices for the program. Excluding livestock from sensitive streams and woodlands is also important focus under Kentucky’s 2008 WHIP. Since WHIP focuses on improvement to wildlife cover, food plots are not eligible under the program.

WHIP applications are evaluated and ranked to determine which applications provide the most beneficial habitats. To apply for WHIP, please contact your local USDA NRCS service Center.

For more information regarding WHIP, visit Kentucky's NRCS Web site at http://www.ky.nrcs.usda.gov/programs and the national NRCS Web site at http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/programs.

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