2004 Environmental Quality Incentive Program

Local Work Group Summary for Silver City

Introduction:

The Silver City Field Office is located in the town of Silver City, county seat of Grant County, in the southwestern part of New Mexico. The field office provides assistance to the Grant and San Francisco Soil and Water Conservation Districts (SWCD) with a combined total of 4.3 million acres. Approximately 35% are state and private lands and 65% federal lands. There are a wide variety of landscapes ranging from 4,400 feet up to 11,000 feet elevation. Annual precipitation ranges from 10 inches in the southern desert to over 20 inches in the mountains. Soils are extremely variable and complex. They range from deep loamy soils in the two major river valleys and broad alluvial slopes to shallow rocky soils in the foothills and mountains. Vegetation ranges from the black grama, tobosa and dropseeds, yucca, Mormon tea, and mesquite of the desert grassland type up to ponderosa pine, piñon ricegrass, mountain brome and mountain muhly of the ponderosa pine type. The present economy of the area is based on agriculture with less emphasis on the mining and logging activities of the past.

Local Work Group

The Grant and San Francisco SWCDs held a combined Local Work Group Meeting December 15, 2003 at 11:00 AM, in the NRCS conference room, 2610 North Silver Street, Silver City, New Mexico. Invitations were sent out to federal, state, and local agencies.  Ten participants were in attendance and provided input in developing the plan. Entities involved include: USDA Forest Service, New Mexico Department of Agriculture, Grant Soil and Water Conservation District, San Francisco Soil and Water Conservation District and USDA Farm Services County Committee.

Priority Resource Concerns

The Local Work Group reviewed the EQIP 2003 program and decided no changes were needed for this year and to continue the program as it was set up last year. Last year, the Local Work Group selected soil erosion, water quality, and water quantity as higher priority resource concerns and proposes to recommend higher cost-share rates for selected practices to accomplish their objectives. The local work group does not intend to limit landowners from addressing other resource concerns utilizing the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP). This represents the results of a district mailing to cooperators and a tabulation of the feedback comments from a year ago with no changes recommended for this year.

Funding Considerations

The Local Work Group decided to continue to allocate monies received to the two districts based on the same acreage figures used to determine the state allocation to the Silver City Service Center as done last year. Initially, both districts will use 55% of the available funds for rangeland practices and 45% for all other practices. These funds are interchangeable if not otherwise obligated.  Unobligated funds within the districts are also interchangeable. 

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

The Grant County Cost Docket was reviewed and discussed. The Local Work Group was concerned that the new cost docket has been reduced eliminating some practices and components that are used within our area. Some of the practices and components include: mesquite grubbing, well drilling, some steel and plastic livestock pipelines, methods of installation for livestock pipelines, plastic and steel casing for wells and stream bank and shoreline protection. The Local Work Group recommended that these items be put back into the cost docket. 

Contracts within the San Francisco SWCD will be developed using the Catron County Cost Docket. It was noted that these same practices and components are not in the Catron County Cost Docket also.

Eligible Practices

The Local Work Group discussed the "New Mexico Approved Practice List for EQIP" and recommended using the list as last year and not delete any of the practices. 

Cost Share Rate and Incentive Payments - Please refer to the link for specific information.

The Local Work Group recommended using the same as last year.

The Local Work Group, in making their recommendations, utilized the results of a mailing to cooperators from a year ago as to their resource concerns and the conservation practices needed to address these concerns. The Local Work Group decided to continue to promote the use of these practices by increasing the cost share rates as incentive for cooperators experiencing drought conditions, poor cattle markets, and a depressed economy. It is felt that with most rangeland practices, the benefits received from the installation of these practices come over a long period of time. Providing this additional incentive should help to address the resource concerns that otherwise might not get done. 

The Local Work Group still recommends an Incentive Payment to be paid to cooperators planning a prescribed burn on private and state lands. The payment would be based on a need to defer the pasture from all grazing by domestic animals during the growing season and the following months prior to the planned burn in order to have sufficient fine fuels to carry a prescribed fire. Payments would be made on an animal unit month (aum) basis for the acreage to be burned covering the period of the growing season through the month of the actual burn. This is generally July through April or May of the following year. Payment would be made upon the completion of the prescribed burn. The Local Work Group suggests using the rates presently used by the USDA Forest Service in this same area. The Animal Unit Month Value Coefficients used in estimating market values for private lands has been used since 1983 and is updated annually. The calendar year 2003 coefficient for this area is $8.28 per AUM. The coefficient in effect at the time the cost docket is developed would lock in the price for the period of the contract. The Local Work Group recommended leaving this coefficient the same as last year since the US Forest Service does not have updated data available at this time.

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

The New Mexico - Silver City Field Office, FY 2004 Ranking Criteria Worksheet - Grazing Lands will be used including attachment for riparian and grazed forest if needed (see attachment 2). The New Mexico - Silver City Field Office, FY 2004 Ranking Criteria Worksheet - Irrigated Cropland will be used as appropriate (see attachment 3). The Ranking Criteria Worksheet is used to rank each application impartially and prioritize the applications for available funding to be contracted. 

Timelines, Evaluation Periods

Please refer to the EQIP Application Information link. 

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