The Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe is partnering with the US Department of Agriculture to help conserve, maintain and improve grassland productivity, reduce soil erosion and enhance wildlife habitat within the boundaries of their reservations.
The Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program partnership completes a plan announced in November (Nov. 17, 2022), when the Oglala and Rosebud Sioux Tribes in South Dakota finalized their CREP agreements.
These three are USDA’s first-ever CREP partnerships with Tribal Nations.
CREP is a part of the Conservation Reserve Program, the country’s largest private-land conservation program. CREP leverages federal and non-federal funds to target specific Tribal land, State, regional or nationally significant conservation concerns.
Each CREP agreement authorizes enrollment of:
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Up to 1.5 million acres by the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe;
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Up to 1 million acres by the Oglala Sioux Tribe; and
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Up to 600,000 acres by the Rosebud Sioux Tribe.
USDA Farm Service Agency Deputy Administrator for Farm Programs Scott Marlow met with Tribal leaders at the Western Dakota Technical College in Rapid City to highlight the agreements and to discuss the benefits of conservation. Attendees included Tribal chairmen from the Cheyenne River, Oglala and Rosebud tribes and representatives from the Intertribal Agriculture Council.
Marlow says this is an historic milestone for USDA and will substantially bolster our efforts to deploy climate-smart agriculture and conservation in the Great Plains. He says it’s vital that programs like CREP are accessible to all agricultural communities.
Through these Tribal CREPs, farmers, ranchers, and agricultural producers voluntarily enter into contracts with the federal government for 10-to-15-years, agreeing to maintain an existing vegetative cover of permanent grasses and legumes, while retaining the right to conduct common grazing practices and operations related to the production of forage and seeding. In return, FSA provides participants with rental payments and cost-share assistance for establishing permanent fencing and livestock watering facilities needed to support livestock grazing.
Only Tribal land, either land owned by the Tribe or owned by a member of the Tribe, are eligible for these projects. FSA will open enrollment in the coming weeks. To learn more and determine eligibility, visit usda.gov or contact their local USDA Service Center.
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