There has to be a hitch, but I can’t find it. I’ve read the GRP brochure. In effect, landowners voluntarily limit future use of the land (for a minimum of 10 years) while retaining the right to conduct common grazing practices. The GRP pays the landowner for this. If you sell the land, the program can be transferred to the new owner. The goal of the GRP is to conserve and restore two million acres nationally, reducing potential for flooding by controlling sediment loading in water bodies, offering biodiversity of plant and animal groups, and enhancing environmental qualities.
The brochure reads, “All participants will be required to follow a conservation plan. The plan must contain sufficient management decisions that will preserve the integrity of the grassland enrolled in the program, and stabilization of any severely eroding areas must be addressed.”
We should be doing this anyway. Now they are going to pay us for it.
To date, only two applications have been processed in Moore County. One for 87 acres on a 30-year program and another 33 acres was approved for 15 years. According to the options chosen, including perpetuity, a landowner can be paid up to 90 percent of the fair market value, less the grazing value. For a 30-year plan, 30 percent is paid. It’s like free money, for maintaining status quo. And we still own the property.
According to Moore Soil and Water vice chair Glenn Bradley, Moore County has another $118,000 to disburse this year.
The VAD deal is sweet, too. Lower tax rates and political clout for the price of a $25 sign. Let’s all make that trip to Carthage.
