Wildlife Habitat Incentives Program (WHIP)

Rappahannock County is remarkable in the amount of land that our residents have put under conservation easement, but if your land doesn't qualify for this program or you want to try other strategies for protecting wildlife habitat, the U.S. Department of Agriculture offers an alternative: the Wildlife Habitat Incentives Program.

According to the National Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), which manages this program, WHIP is a voluntary program that "encourages creation of high-quality wildlife habitats that support wildlife populations of national, state, tribal, and local significance." Habitat loss is now the greatest threat to most native species. Bird species whose habitat is in grassland and early successional (grass and forb, and shrub and seedling habitats) plant communities have been especially hard hit. These species include the meadowlark, grasshopper sparrow, quail, and loggerhead shrike. Their habitat has been replaced over the years by suburban development and by farmers' planting nonnative forage grasses for livestock.

NRCS provides technical and financial help to land owners and users to develop upland, wetland, riparian, and aquatic habitat areas on their property. Land that qualifies for the program can be public or private.

Participants voluntarily limit future use of enrolled land for a period of time but retain ownership. NRCS works with the participant to develop a wildlife habitat development plan. This plan becomes the basis of an agreement between NRCS and the participant in which NRCS pays up to 75 percent of the costs of the plan (up to $15,000) and helps develop and carry out the plan.

Wild turkeys are residents of
Rappahannock County.
Photo courtesy of USDA NRCS.

Most agreements last 5 to 10 years, but can be shorter to install practices needed to meet wildlife emergencies. Greater cost-share assistance is also available for agreements of 15 years or more for practices implemented on essential plant and animal habitat. NRCS continues to provide help to landowners after habitat development activities are completed. This help may include monitoring habitat practices, reviewing management guidelines, or providing basic biological and engineering advice on how to achieve the best results for targeted species.

NRCS emphasizes the following criteria in choosing projects:

Habitat areas for wildlife species experiencing declining or significantly reduced populations.
Practices beneficial to fish and wildlife that may not otherwise be funded.
Wildlife and fishery habitats identified by local and state partners and Indian tribes.

In Virginia, WHIP places the highest priority on the following habitats and their wildlife communities: grassland and early successional, riparian, migration corridors, those that have been documented as declining. The most popular practices supported through WHIP are

Converting fescue to native grass species.
Planting field borders.
Establishing shrubs and native warm-season grasses.
Establishing hedgerows.
Managing woodland openings.
Restoring native hardwoods and shrubs to reduce habitat fragmentation.
Creating more habitat by planting or restoring riparian buffers.

In Virginia, you must have two or more rural acres dedicated to the plan, you must follow the plan for contracted period, and you must meet certain conservation compliance and wetland conservation requirements.

You can file applications at any time with your local USDA service center or conservation district office. Applications and information may be obtained through USDA's Web site at www.sc.egov.usda.gov, or contact Joe Thompson, NRCS District Conservationist:
(540) 825-4200, or Joe.Thompson@va.usda.gov.

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