Crapo to Review Conservation Reserve Program

CRAPO TO REVIEW CONSERVATION RESERVE PROGRAM

Hearing to focus on oversight of program

Idaho Senator Mike Crapo, the Chairman of the Senate Agriculture Subcommittee on Conservation, Forestry, and Rural Revitalization, will chair a hearing next week to discuss oversight of the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP). The hearing will take place on Wednesday, July 27th, at 10:00 a.m. in 328A Russell Senate Office Building on Capitol Hill. "For the past 20 years, CRP has been a tool for farmers and ranchers to voluntarily achieve their conservation goals," said Crapo. "Conservation programs, such as CRP, have helped producers protect wetlands, water quality and wildlife habitat, while meeting environmental standards." CRP has also been credited as a major tool for the restoration of threatened and endangered species across the U.S., including salmon and the sharp tailed grouse in Idaho. "With more than 780 thousand acres enrolled in CRP in Idaho alone and more than 22 million acres under CRP contracts that are scheduled to expire in 2007-2008, it is a good time to take another look at the program and ensure that goals are being met as we look to the future direction of this and other conservation programs," Crapo concluded.

http://www.crapo.senate.gov/media/newsreleases/release_full.cfm?id=241077&&