I want to spend a post describing the steps I had to take to get involved with the Wildlife Habitat Incentives Program (WHIP). This link will take you to the specific details. I just want to summarize what I went thru to get to the point of program approval; where I am right now.
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I don't know how this will translate to other areas of the U.S. I have read many posts on this forum from the PB brethren about lousy encounters with the NRCS. I have also read about some good stories. Mine is one of the good ones.
I called our NRCS agent, a nice young guy named Bill. He came out to the property and walked it with me right after we cleared the timber for the pondsite. I gave him a key to the gate and told him to use it anytime he needed or wanted. (in fact, he came back a few days later by himself and took the GPS readings for our new 2000 ft driveway and the pondsite clearing and transferred them to an aerial strip map and forwarded the copy to me as a PDF and JPEG). Anyway, during our first meeting, we walked the property and I shared my visions of a nature preserve with him. It became very apparaent that my thought process coincided with the NRCS thought process as he started throwing out different ideas to promote my vision. My posts above detail the peaks and valleys of my progress. As much as I wanted to get it started right away, Bill carefully and diplomatically pulled back my reigns to wait until the pond was done. Now, looking back, his posture was a no-brainer...glad I listened to him.
The funding for WHIP gets distributed to the states sometime in January or February. The idea is to have most of your applications in place BEFORE or right at when this occurs. That's not to say that you can't walk in later in the spring. It all depends on how much money has been appropriated and how much is left when you decide to apply.
Last fall, Bill sent us over to the FSA office to register the property. We had to send copies of the property title and pinpoint the location within the county and section so the FSA office could find it easily on their maps. We signed a couple of papers and that was that. It all worked over the phone and through the mail. Cake!
Shortly thereafter, Bill sends us some more documents that are from the NRCS office. We are now getting into some of the contractual formalities, but it is what it is. You read thru 10 or 15 sheets of obligations and commitment verbiage, realize that you're just one more WHIP player that can either take it or leave it, then you sign in 3 different places and mail them back. We'll take it!
Then, late fall, Bill came out. The pond has now been complete for a couple of months and NOW I am ready to get WHIP serious. Bill, D-ski, and I walk the property one more time, except this time he has a clipboard and is taking a bunch of notes as walk from zone to zone within the project. We are reiterating alot of what we have already talked about for vegetation improvements, but now it is with a tone of commitment. It was fun. I would share something like "I want to be able to look out over this 5 ac pond and see it totally surrounded by natural grasses and wildflowers that disappear into the timber that frames it". he would approve, then note that we may want to forego use of the taller grasses in this area as they will diminish the appearance of the forbes (wildflowers). We would give and take this "I have a dream" and "here's how we can make it better" exchange. Like I said, it was kinda fun.
Then, we didn't hear much of anything into January. I called him, just to stay on top of it. He is waiting for the funding and guidelines for the current year to arrive before he starts sewing up the WHIP contracts for final approval. Finally, in late February, he emails me a proposal that outlines the total amounts of each type of improvement, spoken in WHIP-ese, and the areas on our parcel where they will be executed. At the end of this 3 page document, the total acreages of each type of devopment is tallied with the nominal costs that the USDA figures it would cost. Then, 75% of these total costs is calculated as the government's proposal to pay me when I complete their installation. I look it over and call Bill to tweak a few items and add an area that he overlooked. He re-calculates and emails me the final contract for review and signing. It looks good. A 5 year commitment by us to execute and maintain the proposed improvements, and in return the govt pays for 75%. Now, PLEASE UNDERSTAND: The cost figures are the bare minimum nominal costs, likely based on averages. We ain't talking thousands and thousands of dollars, here. If the project was big enough, I s'pose it would be thousands. For our little project, they are offering $1700. To get a better understanding, go to that WHIP link above and drill down to the costs per acre for the different vegetative development types. You'll see what I mean. The way I see it, I was gonna do this stuff anyway...another $1700 can't hurt.
I do have a substantial advantage, and this is how life goes when the sun is shining. One of our neighbors is a farmer and is the nicest guy you would want to have for a neighbor. He is also the caretaker for a very large private hunting preserve. He does all their planting and often has the seed drill in his barn from "Pheasants Forever". He has all the equipment, likes our project, and likes D-ski and B-ski. CLICK!
OK, back to the WHIP contract stuff. About the 2nd week of March I get another email from Bill, the NRCS agent. We're in! He has sent a message to Bob, the state wildlife biologist, to review the plan and submit suggestions for the types of specific plants. Bill says that he can or won't remain involved...it's up to us. A couple of weeks later, Bill emails me another aerial map with the pondsite and driveway, but now it has all the areas of improvement hi-lited and described. Oh yeah, I talked him into GPS locating the walking trails we have thru the woods. They're on the map, too. I told ya; our NRCS guy is a keeper!
We are right now waiting on the state bio's recommendations. I will post the aerial maps soon. In the meantime, I hope Ed Eitel or some of you other pro's will add some commentary to fill in my blanks or adjust my explanations to clarify.
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Final summary: If you are willing to accept the terms of a 5 year commitment to not dig it back up , you should DEFINITELY consider the WHIP program for wildlife habitat improvement.