2003 Environmental Quality Incentive Program

Local Work Group Summary for Datil

Introduction:

The Datil Field Office (FO) is located in Datil New Mexico in Catron County. It provides assistance to the Quemado and Salado Soil and Water Conservation Districts with a combined total of not quite 4.1 million acres. About 39% is Federal lands and 61% is private and state lands, almost all lands are rangeland or grazeable woodland. The Datil Field Office covers the northern and eastern parts of Catron County, the southern part of Cibola County and the western part of Socorro County, topography is varied with elevations ranging from 4500 feet to 10,000 feet with much of the area above 6,000 feet. Soils vary from deep well drained loams and clays to shallow gravelly to rocky soils on mountain sides. The precipitation ranges from 10 inches in lower elevations to over 20 inches in the higher elevations, with annual precipitation figures varying widely from year to year.

Vegetation ranges from black and blue grama to mountain brush/ mountain muhly, pine dropseed, and in the higher elevations Ponderosa pine, mountain grasses. The predominant use of land at the present time is still ranching with more and more emphasis placed on hunting as a source of income. There is also a component of land being sold as subdivisions in the areas that contain suitable numbers of tree species.

The Quemado and Salado Soil and Water Conservation Districts held a joint Local Work Group Meeting on March 18th at 1:00 p.m. at the Quemado Community Center. Invitations were sent out to Federal, State, and County agencies with fifteen participants attending, and assisting in developing the plan.

The local work group chose water quality/water quantity (brush control), soil erosion as their highest priority resource concerns, and proposed higher cost share rates for selected practices to encourage participants to work on these objectives. They also felt that erosion control and brush control are expensive practices that have a long lived return to the participant and also have large off site benefits that would justify a higher cost share rate. The local work group does not wish to restrict landowners from addressing other resource concerns under the Environmental Quality Incentive Program (EQIP).

The Local Work Group also recommended that a $25,000.00/practice/contract limit be placed on brush management.

Funding Considerations:

The Local Work Group would allocate monies received by the two Districts based on the same acreage figures used to determine the state allocation to the Datil Field Office, the funds would be split 55% to rangeland practices and 45% to all other practices. These funds would be interchangeable if not otherwise obligated; funds would be interchangeable between districts if not obligated also.

See Datil Field Office, FY 2003 EQIP eligible practices and rates list.

For recommended cost share rates and incentive payments, see the Datil Field Office FY 2003 EQIP eligible practices and rates list.

At this time contracts are to be signed by July 3, 2003.  Applications are taken on a continuous basis with an evaluation period for FY 2003 ending on March 14, 2003. The Local Work Group recommended a 2nd evaluation period, if needed, to end May 30th 2003.

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