3
Presentation Overview
• Accomplishments• Perspective• Challenges• Meeting the Challenges• The Future
4
Accomplishments• Implemented appraisal policy across programs• Development of private sector appraiser capacity• Implemented HFRP and ESA landowner protections• Implemented changes to FRPP agreements and
deeds• Late year GRP rental agreement in drought states• WRP Reverse Auction Pilot• Implemented CRP streamlining•CRP General, Emergency, REX, and
Continuous/CREP sign-ups
5
Accomplishments• Enrolled 150,000 acres of WRP
(includes restoration)• Enrolled 57,523 acres of FRPP• Enrolled 93,487 acres of GRP
agreements• Enrolled 495,652 acres of HFRP
(includes restoration-only acres)Total FY 2006 Enrollment
796,662 acres
9
FRPP Top 10
1. Pennsylvania2. Maryland3. Vermont4. New Jersey5. Kentucky6. New York7. Massachusetts8. New Hampshire9. Delaware10. Ohio
1. Vermont2. Pennsylvania3. Maryland4. Colorado5. Montana6. California7. Kentucky8. New York9. New Jersey10. Wyoming
Number of Enrolled Easements
Total Acres Enrolled
12
WRP Top 10
1. New York2. Iowa3. Louisiana4. Missouri5. Minnesota6. Wisconsin7. Mississippi8. Indiana9. Arkansas10. Nebraska
1. Louisiana2. Arkansas3. Mississippi4. Florida5. California6. Missouri7. Minnesota8. Iowa9. Texas10. Illinois
Number of Enrolled Easements
Total Acres Enrolled
15
GRP Top 10
1. Texas2. Kansas3. Missouri4. Indiana5. Wisconsin6. Mississippi7. Kentucky8. Nebraska9. Idaho10. Oklahoma
1. Texas2. Montana3. Kansas4. Colorado5. Oklahoma6. Alabama7. North Dakota8. Oregon9. Nevada10. Washington
Number of Enrolled Easements
Total Acres Enrolled
18
HFRP Top 3
1. Arkansas2. Maine3. Mississippi
1. Maine2. Arkansas3. Mississippi
Number of Enrolled Easements
Total Acres Enrolled
19
Perspective
0
500
1000
1500
2000
2500
3000
CumulativeNumber ofEasementsEnrolled
FRPP Cumulative Numbers of Easements Enrolled, FY 1996-2006
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PerspectiveWRP Cumulative Numbers of Easements
Enrolled, FY 1996-2006
0
2000
4000
6000
8000
10000
12000
1991
1992
1993
1994
1995
1996
1997
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
Cumulative Numberof EnrolledEasements
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NRCS Easement PortfolioSeptember 30, 2006
ProgramNumber of Easements
Acres of Easements
EWP – Floodplain Easements*
1,687 230,771
FRPP 1,575 314,763
GRP 109 42,902
WRP 7,642 1,502,667
Total 11,013 2,091,103Note: Includes only easements “recorded at the courthouse.”
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Total Estimated Value of the NRCS Easement Portfolio
$4,172,859,396
Does not include TA; Does include cost of easements recorded at the courthouse and
restoration
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Challenges• Audits• Real Property Management Issues• PART Goals• Getting to Green• Easement Valuation Issues• Section 1614 of 2002 Farm Bill• Continuing TA Challenges• Lack of Reliable Data to Support the
Agency Position
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A Wealth of Audits• Office of Inspector General (OIG)
– Financial Statement Audits – fund use issues– WRP Improper Payments– WRP Restoration Compliance Audit– Compensation for Easements (Valuation)– Specific Land Trust Audit (FRPP)– FRPP Selected NGOs Audit – Monitoring of Farm Bill Activities/Initiatives– Conservation Program Controls to Prevent Duplicate
Payments– NRCS/FSA Crop Base on Easements– Crop Bases on Lands with Conservation Easements -
California – Review of AGI
26
A Wealth of AuditsGovernment Accountability Office (GAO)• Coastal Wetlands Protection• LRF, Beginning Farmer, and Tribal
Outreach• Coordination of Habitat Programs –
Threatened and Endangered Species• South Florida Ecosystem Restoration
Initiative
Preparation for the next WRP and FRPP PART
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A Wealth of O&E Reviews
O&E Reviews/Program Evaluations • Costs of WRP Easements Review• Farm and Ranch Lands Protection
Program Review
• GRP Ranking Criterion Review
• Easements Programs Portfolio Review
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Real Property Management Issues
• Attempted condemnations – State DOT’s, FAA• Mineral Rights – drilling and mining• Energy transmission lines, pipelines, and
right of ways• NRCS “Acceptance” of easements• Violations and enforcement• Donations of easements from prohibited
sources• Water rights
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Real Property Management Issues
• Lawsuits over Compatible Use and Misunderstanding of Reserved Rights
• OGC Title Review• Wind Farms• All Appropriate Inquiries – Brownfield
Rule• Aging Restoration Structures – O&M
NRCS & OGC Workload Increases with all of these issues – TA$$
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PART Performance Goals - FRPP
• Percent of FRPP acres protected that are classified as prime, unique, or important farmland
• Percent of FRPP farms that are in active agriculture
• Total acres of farm and ranch lands protected
• Total acres of prime, unique, and important farmland protected
• Average time to close an FRPP easement
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PART GoalsFRPP – Close Within 18 Months
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006
Average Number of Months Until Closing
32
PART GoalsFRPP – Close Within 18 Months
0
500
1000
1500
2000
2500
3000
1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006
Number of PendingEasementsNumber of EasementsEnrolledNumber of EasementsClosed
*Cumulative Number of Easements
33
PART Performance Goals - WRP
• Percentage increase in the number of WRP projects fully restored within three years of closing the easement
• Reduced ground and surface water contamination through reduced nutrient application (tons)
• Acres of wetlands protected by 30-year or permanent easements, cumulative
• Percentage increase of WRP easements closed within 12 months of initial project application
• Percentage of protected WRP acres enrolled each year that directly benefit federally and state listed Threatened and Endangered Species
• Acres of wetlands created, restored, or enhanced
34
PART GoalsWRP – Close Within 12 Months
0
2000
4000
6000
8000
10000
12000
1991 1993 1995 1997 1999 2001 2003 2005
Number of EasementsPendingNumber of EasementsEnrolledNumber of EasementsRecorded
35
Getting to Green
• Use/Movement of Funds• Improper Payments Improvement Act• Obligation Support Documentation
Issues• Close-out 1996 Farm Bill Obligations• $80 Million in Commitments at end of
FY 2006 – OBLIGATE!
36
Easement Valuation Issues• Implementation of “Yellow Book”• Private sector capacity• Federal appraiser recruitment
barriers• Consistency of appraisals• Consistency of technical reviews
37
Section 1614 Challenges• Lack of automated national easement
management system that integrates with SCIMS
• Customer (entity and vendor) data quality issues, including duplicates, missing data, erroneous entries
• Easement payments identified to the “warm bodies”
• Security and sensitivity issues of data
38
Continuing TA Challenges
• FRPP – NRCS Cost of Programs Model shows need for $4.8 million to meet 18 month PART goals
• OMB apportionment for FY 2007 = $2.2 million TA
39
Lack of Reliable Data to Support the Agency Position
May Result In:• Future need to increase reporting for
oversight and accountability• Increase in regular data calls• Increased consequences for incorrect
and incomplete data
40
Response to Challenges
• Audits• Real Property Management• Database• Improved Guidance• Streamlining Efforts• Easement Valuation
41
Audits• Close out 1996 Farm Bill activities in
FY 2007• Effective Immediately
– “57” funds may only be used for true cost overruns for contracts from which the funds were apportioned• Example: 2001 funds may be used only for
2001 contract cost overruns
• Immediate guidance to be provided
42
Audits, Continued
• Increased internal scrutiny on land trust activities
• Manual revisions to clarify instructions for documentation of obligations and payments
• Bottom Line: Increased accountability requires teamwork between program managers, financial management, and contracting
43
Real Property Management
• OGC title and easement deed reviews – protects Federal investment
• Policies to be released:– Mineral rights– Energy rights of way– Easement “acceptance”– Easement donations– Water rights– “all appropriate inquires”
44
Real Property Management, Cont.
• Remote sensing for monitoring incremental implementation– Policy needed– Some on-site visits – frequency TBD– How do we pay for replacing structures that no
longer function?
• Managing for optimization of natural resource benefits– Policy needed– Watershed or important habitat areas as basis
for focusing efforts on habitat or water quality issues
45
Database
• Geospatial easements business tool and database – full implementation 2008– Management tool– Reduce data calls– Increased consistency
• Improve compliance with Section 1614
46
Financial Management Modernization Initiative (FMMI)
Conservation Programs (ProTracts) Other Agency Programs
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GRANTS Line of Business
USDA Financial System (FMMI)
Performance and Accountability
47
Improved Guidance
• Publish HFRP and FRPP final rules – also manuals and training
• Monthly teleconferences – 3rd Thursday
• Publish Common Provisions, WRP and GRP Manuals
48
Highlights of WRP Streamlining Efforts
• Consider regional or multi-state teams for real property responsibilities
• Revise WREP – landscape or watershed scale approach for larger projects
• Institutionalize reverse auction• Shift work cycle to perform certain
functions, such as appraisals, “up front” – have applications queued up
• Require legal surveys to prevent enforcement “surprises”
49
CRP Technical Assistance Streamlining
02468
101214161820
General Sign-up Reenrollments Forestry CRP EmergencyForestry CRP
Before2006
Hours
/C
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act
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Easement Valuation• Independent review• Listening sessions• Use of streamlined procurement processes• Guidance for hiring appraisers and
technical reviewers• Enhanced training for technical reviews• Market-based compensations
– Carbon credits, wildlife credits• Safe Harbor
– Wildlife credits
51
The Future
• Section 2005 Report to Congress• Streamlining Easement Programs• Farm Bill Theme Papers • NRCS Strategic Plan• Cost Effectiveness• Private Sector Markets• Auctions
52
What Does the Future Hold for USDA Conservation Programs?
• USDA Section 2005 Report to Congress– Streamline and eliminate redundancies
• One cost-share assistance program?• One flexible conservation easement program?• Do we need the cost-share component of CSP?
– Market-based conservation– CRP – maintain as stand alone program
53
Streamlined Approach to Conservation Easement
Programs• Flexibility to achieve local natural resource
goals, as well as national priorities• Offer three enrollment options to meet
landowner’s long-term management and estate plans:– Permanent– 30-year– Maximum allowed by State law
• Restoration component for natural resource improvement
• Safe Harbor provisions when managing for Threatened or Endangered Species
54
Secretary’s 2007 Farm Bill Theme Papers
• Recognizes contribution of conservation programs in reducing offsite environmental effects of ag production– Preservation of farm and ranch lands– Restoration and enhancement of wetlands– Promotion of wildlife habitat
• Challenges public to consider the balance between Working Lands and Conservation Use Lands
• On farm energy management and biofuels will be important future considerations
55
NRCS Strategic Plan Mission Goals
– High-quality, Productive Soils– Clean and Abundant Water– Healthy Plant and Animal
Communities– Clean Air– Adequate Energy Supply– Working Farm and Ranch Lands
56
Cost Effectiveness – Increase Environmental Returns on Conservation Investments
• Watershed or landscape approach – focus where environmental gains are most likely
• Greater use of competitive bidding• Expanded use of performance-based
payments– Vary commensurate with environment
benefits• CEAP
57
Encourage Private Sector Markets for Environmental
Services• Complement programs• Potentially replace some federal support,
allowing federal funds to reach more farmers
• Markets include:– Air quality– Water quality or quantity– Wetlands habitat– Endangered species– Greenhouse gases– Development rights
58
• Reverse auction (lowest bids “wins”)• Pilot in homogenous wetlands• Professional appraisal methodology
to establish caps• Self-assessment• Ranking by bid and environmental
benefits index• Public posting of bids• Re-competition
WRP Auction