2004 Environmental Quality Incentive Program

Local Work Group Summary for Alamogordo

Introduction:

The Alamogordo Field Office serves most of Otero County and a small portion of Lincoln County in south central New Mexico.  The total acreage of the service area is 4,248,320.  Federal land makes up a majority of the area with 67.4% of the land being BLM, Forest Service, and Department of Defense.  In addition, 10.8% of the total acreage is included in the Mescalero Apache Indian Reservation.  State land holdings in the district make up 10.6% and private lands make up the remainder at 11.2% of the district.  The area includes most of the Sacramento Mountains and much of the Tularosa Basin.  Conservation plans include forest stand improvement and brush management projects in the mountains.  There are numerous rivers with 23 acequias in the district.  A limited amount of irrigation occurs in the mountain valleys and there are numerous farms located in the desert along the base of the Sacramento Mountains.  The balance of the area is rangeland primarily used for livestock grazing.

Local Work Group

The Local Work Group (LWG) met on December 16, 2003.  Those in attendance represented:

Lincoln National Forest Allotment Owners President                                                                                             Otero SWCD - 4 members                                                                                                                      Cooperative Extension Service                                                                                                                     Tularosa Community Ditch                                                                                                                             NRCS                                                                                                                                                       Mescalero Apache Tribe                                                                                                                                 Bureau of Indian Affairs

The LWG advised that the cost docket rates be increased back to what it showed in the 2003 cost docket.  They wanted to show the importance of forests and how it affects the water in the country and give t a higher priority in the ranking process along with the grazing lands and cropland.  They also gave some suggestions on the ranking criteria worksheets.

Priority Resource Concerns/Funding Considerations

The LWG recommended that the Otero County allocation for non-tribal lands will be divided by using 65% on grazing land and 355 on cropland.  Grazing land makes up the majority of the present land use in the county.  The group felt it was important to emphasize practices that would be beneficial to or tend to alleviate the water shortage in the county.  

Cost Docket - Please refer to the Cost Docket link for specific information.

Eligible Practices - Please refer to the Eligible Practices link for specific information.

Cost Share Rates and Incentive Payments - Please refer to this link for specific information.

A per practice limit of $50,000 has been approved.  Incentive payments for irrigation water management and prescribed grazing are also approved.

Ranking Criteria- Please refer to the Ranking Criteria links for specific information.

The LWG has recommended using the following in the event of a tie score:                                                                1. Preference will be given to those individuals with priority resource concerns.                                                          2. The percentage of their whole operating unit covered by the contract.

Timelines, Evaluation Periods - Please refer to the EQIP Application Information link.

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