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Agriculture and Consumer Protection Act of 1973 

 Title X 



The Rural Environmental Program established under this act provides for 

 federal forestry assistance to private and non-federal farmlands. Activities 

 include establishment of tree stands for soil protection, forestry pur- 

 poses, environmental improvement, and to improve woodlands. Federal 

 assistance includes cost-sharing for initial establishment of conservation 

 practices (tree planting, site preparation, erosion control, etc. ) and 

 technical assistance at no cost to landowners. The program is administered 

 by the Agricultural Stabilization and Conservation Service (ASCS) in 

 cooperation with the Forest Service and state foresters. 



The Rural Environmental Program could be a vehicle for mitigation of 

 water quality problems resulting from forestry practices on non-federal 

 farmlands. There are many cases in Montana where contracts between the 

 logger and landowner were written without adequate regard for protection 

 of stream water quality. In such cases where impacts have occurred, the 

 landowner could use the assistance provided in this program to rehabilitate 

 the harvested area and mitigate the impacts. However, the landowner 

 must be made aware of the services available to him and encouraged to 

 use them. 



