2003 Environmental Quality Incentive Program

Local Work Group Summary for Gallup

Introduction:

The Gallup Field Office is located in McKinley County on Interstate 40 approximately 22 miles east of the Arizona state line and covers 3,490,500 acres or 5,454 square miles. The McKinley Soil and Water Conservation District (SWCD) comprises 2,979,519 acres or 4,655 square miles in McKinley County. Of this acreage 439,426 is federal land with 189,878 acres in the Cibola National Forest and 249,548 acres of Bureau of Land Management land. The remainder acres in McKinley County are private, state and tribal lands. In addition 532,200 acres of McKinley SWCD lie within Cibola County and 4,470 acres in San Juan County. Therefore, the total land area of the McKinley SWCD is 3,516,189 acres or 5,494 square miles. The major land uses in the district are rangeland with approximately 3,294,678 acres, 189,878 acres if forestland, 21,331 acres if woodland, 5,802 acres of irrigated cropland and 4,500 acres of dry cropland. Much of the woodland is a mixture of pinon and juniper or pinon, juniper and ponderosa and is grazed by livestock. In addition there is grazing on forest allotments managed by the U.S. Forest Service.

The largest land ownership in McKinley District is tribal land held in trust for both the Navajo and Zuni. This land covers approximately 1,947,745 acres or 3,043 square miles. Private and state land accounts for 1,065,861 acres (1,665 square miles). In addition to this acreage there is federal land managed by both the U.S. Forest Service (189,878 acres) and the Bureau of Land Management (249,548 acres).

Local Work Group

The McKinley SWCD convened three Local Work Group (LWG) meetings. These meetings were held on February 7, March 5 and March 26, 2003 at the USDA Service Center in Gallup, NM. Represented at these meetings were the Zuni Pueblo, Navajo Nation Department of Agriculture, Navajo Eastern Agency Natural Resources Office Bureau of Indian Affairs, Navajo Eastern Agency Land Board, NM Office of the State Engineer, McKinley County, Navajo Nation Nahodishgish Chapter, Navajo District 14 Grazing Management Board Tohatchi Chapter, USDA-FSA McKinley County, USDA-NRCS Gallup Field Office, USDA-NRCS Crownpoint Field Office, USDA-NRCS Grants Field Office, USDA-NRCS NW Team Leader, McKinley SWCD and the NM State University-McKinley County Cooperative Extension Service.

Priority Resource Concerns

The priority resource concerns the local work group deemed most important, in order of importance, are rangeland health, water quantity and quality issues including perennial water development, irrigated land issues, riparian areas, forest land and urban land.

Urban land is not addressed in EQIP but there was a concern that unplanned development is causing resource problems in some areas of the district.

Funding Considerations

The LWG agreed to recommend funds initially be allocated 75% grazing lands and 25% water resources. If additional funds remain in the water resources category they would be directed to grazing lands resource concerns. Priority resource concerns will be ranked higher on the ranking worksheets.

Cost Docket: Refer to Cost Docket

Practices to be Eligible: Refer to Eligible Practices...

Cost Share Rate and Incentive Payments

No incentive payments for management practices were recommended. Cost sharing at 75% is recommended for the practices listed on the EQIP Eligible Practice List which will provide the most resource benefit.

The LWG believed there is ample justification for the recommended 75% CS level for selected practices. One reason being the large number of limited resource producers (LRP) in McKinley SWCD and others with sufficiently low income and meager return from their agricultural operations. Therefore a 75% cost share rate would increase the likelihood of having practices not only more commonly installed but also those which will aid in natural resource restoration being applied in the McKinley SWCD.

Ranking Criteria

The ranking criteria were developed utilizing the priority settings agreed upon by the LWG. For this reason the grazing land ranking worksheet assigns extra points to producers who limit the number of days during the growing season, provide perennial water and enhance riparian areas. The water resources worksheet assigns extra points for water conveyance and land leveling (quantity) and riparian enhancement (wildlife and quality).

Timelines, Evaluation Periods

The most recent evaluation period ended on April 18, 2003.  It is anticipated that contracts will be approved by July 3, 2003.

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