To spur the application and maintenance of conservation practices on private agricultural land, the USDA began the Conservation Security Program (CSP) in 2004. The St. Joseph Watershed was one of 22 included in the first year of the program. Producers in designated watersheds can sign up for CSP.

The program is unique in several ways:

• CSP rewards agricultural landowners for the environmental practices they already have in place.

• The voluntary, incentive-based program rewards landowners for their stewardship accomplishments over a period of time.

• Only producers who employ sound land stewardship practices are eligible to participate. Applicants complete a self-evaluation of their conservation practices prior to signing up

Private agricultural landowners, USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), Soil and Water Conservation Districts for Allen, Dekalb, Noble, and Steven Counties in Indiana; Branch and Hillsdale Counties in Michigan; and Defi ance and Williams Counties in Ohio.

• Participants sign contracts and receive payments over a 5 or 10 year period, helping to ensure that stewardship practices remain in place. The majority of producers have a 10-year contract.

• More than $4 million was distributed to contract holders during 2004.

• More than $1.5 million was paid to contract holders for making additional land stewardship enhancements. Most of these payments went to producers who already had the highest level of practices in place.