Contributions of the United States Department of Agriculture Natural Resources Conservation Service to Conserving Grasslands on Private Lands in the United States

The future of biodiversity in the USA is tied inseparably to activities taking place on private lands. Agriculture is by far the most important user of these lands, with about 50% or 900M acres managed as private cropland, grassland or rangeland. Decisions made by America’s farmers and ranchers directly affect grasslands and their impact on food supply, biodiversity, soil protection and water quality. Agricultural programs and policies in the USA have had a large influence on the choices available to farmers and ranchers in land management. Since the 1930s, USDA’s Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS) has been working with farmers, ranchers, and other land managers to promote conservation of natural resource through the nation’s 3000 soil and water conservation districts. The Conservation Title of the 1985 Farm Bill, amended in 1996, raised the importance of biodiversity /wildlife in the delivery of conservation programs to the nation’s privately owned lands. NRCS is charged with developing and delivering the proper grassland establishment techniques to landowners and evaluating the results. Recognising the opportunities and challenges related to conserving and enhancing fish and wildlife habitat, NRCS created the Wildlife Habitat Management Institute (WHMI) in 1997 as part of the NRCS National Science and Technology Consortium. WHMI was to interact with academic institutions, partner agencies, non-government organisations and others to develop and disseminate scientifically based technical materials to NRCS field staffs and others to enhance delivery of sound habitat management principles and practices, including grasslands to America’s land users