Conservation Reserve Program Primary Nesting Period
Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) non-disturbance period occurs annually to provide safe habitat for nesting wildlife. The non-disturbance period or primary nesting period, as it is sometimes called, starts April 1 each year and ends Aug. 15. During this period, no maintenance activities can occur on CRP lands.
The reason is simple: Wildlife biologists have determined that this is the primary nesting period of many native birds and other wildlife. This time is required for young wildlife to develop without any interference from humans in the form of mowing or clipping grass cover or any forestry management practices like harvesting select timber on pine tree stands (thinning). While thinning of pines is a good practice for wildlife in the end, it is not permitted during this period.
Basically, all maintenance activities like control burns and chemical spraying to control understory growth in pine stands, any thinning activities on hardwood/pine trees and clipping or bush hogging of grass CRP, is out until Aug. 15.
The general CRP sign-up period ended March 29, but Continuous CRP sign-up for environmentally sensitive land and practices is still in progress, with the next batching period running from March 15 until April 12, 2024.
Continuous CRP just mean the sign-up runs throughout the year. However, this year, due to the one-year extension of the 2018 Farm Bill, the Continuous CRP sign-up process is being handled in batches, to avoid exceeding the National CRP acreage established under the 2018-2023 Farm Bill. The farm bill was extended one year but the acreage limit on land in CRP nationwide was not changed for 2024.
