6.2 Planning and Implementing Conservation
Farm and forest landowners must partner with nonproft conservation organizations or county agencies to apply for funds. Since 2008, the trust fund has provided approx- imately $13 million in grant expenditures and has an additional $3.5 million under contract in support of 138 projects and easements statewide. Currently, 8,151 acres have received a recorded agricultural conservation easement and an additional 1,918 acres are under contract. • A number of Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) programs provide funds for environmental improvement and stewardship programs, staf salaries, and conser- vation easements. Many previous Farm Bill conservation programs were reorganized in 2014 and combine previously available funding into larger programs. Among the big- gest changes and newest programs are the Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP) and the Agricultural Conservation Easement Program (ACEP), which can be used to fund conservation easements. RCPP had $400 million available and ACEP had $332 million available nationwide in the 2014/15 application cycle. Visit the NRCS Conservation Programs website for a comprehensive list of programs. • Te Forest Legacy Program (FLP) is a federal program that supports state eforts to protect environmentally sensitive forest lands. In North Carolina, FLP is administered by the NC Forest Service (NCFS) to help landowners, state and local governments, and private land trusts identify and protect environmentally important forest lands that are threatened by present and future conversion to non-forest uses. Te most important part of forest legacy are private landowners who want to conserve the special values of their land for future generations. Owners can do this in trust with the state government and receive a fair price for the commitment. • NC Tax Checkof for Nongame and Endangered Wildlife—Te largest and most signif- cant source of state funding for the NCWRC Wildlife Diversity Program. Anyone fling an NC income tax form and receiving a tax refund can designate any portion of the refund to fund the Wildlife Diversity Program. Tese are tax-deductible contributions for the next tax year. Te deduction is generally made by checking line 31 on the form (exact line number is subject to tax form revision) and indicating the dollar amount of the contribution to be withheld from the tax refund. Since 1984, the Tax Checkof pro- gram has provided $10,432,469 for conservation eforts. Te average annual donation amount is $347,748, with the lowest in its frst year in 1984 of $51,006 and the highest in 1991 of $510,269. • NC Wildlife Diversity Endowment Fund—Interest earned from donations to this fund is spent on programs that beneft nongame species (i.e., animals not hunted or fshed). Every dollar in donations given to the fund is matched with federal and other grants, so donated dollars actually count twice. Contributions are tax deductible and can be made
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2015 NC Wildlife Action Plan
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