10.093: Voluntary Public Access and Habitat Incentive Program

10.093

Active

Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) [USDA]

Aug. 4, 2022

Aug. 4, 2022

The primary objective of VPA-HIP is to encourage owners and operators of privately-held farm, ranch, and forest land to voluntarily make that land available for access by the public for wildlife-dependent recreation, including hunting or fishing, under programs implemented by state or tribal governments.

Z - Salaries and Expenses

Only States and Tribal governments are eligible for VPA-HIP. An eligible State government means any State or local government, including State, city, town, or county government. An eligible Tribal Government means any Federally-recognized Indian tribe, band, nation, or other organized group, or community, including pueblos, rancherias, colonies and any Alaska Native Village, or regional or village corporation as defined in or established pursuant to the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (43 U.S.C 1601-1629H), which is recognized as eligible for the special programs and services provided by the United States to Indians because of their status as Indians.

The beneficiary eligibility is extended to the public for the purposes of expanding existing public access programs or create new public access programs or provide incentives to improve habitat on enrolled program lands. Proposals for grant money should be submitted to the local State or Tribal governments by owners and operators of privately-held farm, ranch, and forest land. An eligible owner is one who has legal ownership of farmland, ranchland, or forestland. An eligible operator (individual, entity, or joint operation) is one who is determined by the FSA county committee to be in control of the farming, ranching, or silvicultural operations on the farm. For the purposes of receiving grant money, an appropriate wildlife habitat should be suitable or proper, as determined by the applicable State or tribal government, to support fish and wildlife populations in the area. An eligible farmland or ranch land means the sum of the Direct and Counter-Cyclical (DCP) cropland, forest, acreage planted to an eligible crop acreage and other land on the farm. Eligible forest land is at least 120 feet wide and one acre in size with at least 10 percent cover (or equivalent stocking) by live trees of any size, including land that formerly had such tree cover and that will be naturally or artificially regenerated. Forest land includes transition zones, such as areas between forest and non-forest lands that have at least 10 percent cover (or equivalent stocking) with live trees and forest areas adjacent to urban and built-up lands. Roadside, streamside, and shelterbelt strips of trees must have a crown width of at least 120 feet and continuous length of at least 363 feet to qualify as forest land. Unimproved roads and trails, streams, and clearings in forest areas are classified as forest if they are less than 120 feet wide or an acre in size. Tree-covered areas in agricultural production settings, such as fruit orchards, or tree-covered areas in urban settings, such as city parks, are not considered forest land. Eligible privately-held land means farm, ranch, or forest land that is owned or operated by an individual or entity that is not an entity of any government unit or Tribe.

https://sam.gov/fal/422aec019195474f9e9951e8a5ce5868/view