Published 3:45 pm Friday, October 6, 2023
A USDA Farm Service Agency review has so far led to the withdrawal of 804 acres in Whatcom County, Wash., from a riparian habitat-conservation program supported by farm and environmental groups.
FSA State Director Jon Wyss said the land provided conservation benefits, but the agency erred in authorizing projects along streams ineligible for the Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program.
“Unequivocally, they had an amazing impact on the environment,” he said. “If you take the entire problem, it boils down to a mapping error.”
CREP compensates property owners who voluntarily take land out of agricultural production. Most CREP contracts in Washington are in Whatcom County in the northwest corner of the state.
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FSA discovered last year it had written contacts for projects on streams not shown on CREP maps. The discovery alarmed farmers who count on annual checks to replace foregone income and environmentalists who fear loss of riparian habitat.
The FSA has so far terminated 17 contracts covering 100 acres. Another 85 contracts that covered 428 acres have been canceled by landowners who opted out of CREP rather than accept reduced payments.
Another 85 contracts have been modified, reducing acreage in the program by 276 acres. The USDA is still reviewing 32 contracts covering 377 acres, so the total removed from CREP could top 1,000 acres.
FSA acknowledges that it erred in issuing the contracts and that landowners did nothing wrong. Nevertheless, landowners face losing income or bearing the costs of putting land back into production.
“We have people pretty distressed over this,” Whatcom Family Farmers executive director Fred Likkel said. “For some, this is a financial hardship.”
Whatcom County landowner Rud Browne, who has three CREP contracts, said he faces sharply reduced payments. “I can’t even pay the property taxes,” he said.
FSA’s reneging on contracts will discourage landowners from participating in conservation programs, said Browne, a former county councilor.
“The thing that has to sink in with the USDA is how destructive this is to public trust in these programs,” he said. “I can tell you from dealing with constituents that they won’t distinguish the USDA from other agencies. It’s the government doing this to them.”
Wyss said he plans to work with the Washington State Conservation Commission to revise the CREP stream maps. “We’re going to start fresh and proper,” he said.
Efforts to obtain comment from the Conservation Commission were unsuccessful.
Farm groups and environmental organizations have proposed the state replace the lost CREP payments. While farmers could transfer their land into other conservation programs, none pay as well as CREP.
The 17 landowners whose FSA contracts were terminated were due to receive a total of $67,455 in 2024. Landowners who opted out of CREP rather than accept lower payments were to receive $225,349.
A final figure for income lost to modified contracts was not available Friday.
