Easement Programs

• Voluntary Programs– Willing buyer & willing seller

NRCS Easement Programs

• WRP– Wetland Reserve Program

• GRP– Grassland Reserve Program

• FRPP– Farm and Ranch Lands Protection Program

Wetland Reserve Program

• Overview– Achieve the greatest wetland functions and

values, along with optimizing wildlife habitat, on every enrolled acre

– NRCS holds CE deed– Restrictive-use easement deed– 50 CEs in Wyoming

Grassland Reserve Program

• Overview– Assist landowners in protecting grazing uses and

related conservation values through rental contracts and easements

• Wyoming– Four Easements

• Permissible Activities– Grazing plan required– Common grazing activities– Haying, mowing or harvesting for seed production

• Nesting season restrictions

Grassland Reserve Program

• Eligible entity may hold the easement– Entity must provide a share of the purchase

price equal to U.S. share– U.S. maintains contingent rights

Farm and Ranch Lands Protection Program

FRPPCE Holders

– Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation

– Wyoming Game & Fish– Wyoming Stock Growers

Agricultural Land Trust

– Wyoming Land Trust– The Nature Conservancy– The Conservation Fund– Sheridan Community Land

Trust

Farm and Ranch Lands Protection Program

• Voluntary program to help farmers and ranchers preserve their ag. Land– Entire operations/watershed scale

• Provides matching funds (up to 50% fair market value of the easement) to “eligible entity”– State, or local government and non-government

organizations, i.e. Land Trusts

• Existing farm and ranch

land protection programs

to purchase easements

FRPP

• Eligible Landowners– FRPP participants to be in compliance with

highly erodible lands (HEL) and wetland conservation (WC) provisions of the Farm Bill prior to receiving FRPP funding. NRCS will confirm compliance with the highly erodible lands (HEL) and wetland conservation (WC) provisions before obligating funding in the cooperative agreement.

FRPP

• Adjusted gross income – Landowners with an average adjusted gross

income limitation exceeding $1.0 million for the three tax years immediately preceding the year the cooperative agreement is signed are not eligible to receive program benefits or payments. However, an exemption is provided in cases where 2/3 of the adjusted gross income limitation is derived from farming, ranching, or forestry operations.

Process

1. Financial Assistance Allocation1. varies

2. Request for Proposals

3. Ranking of Proposals

4. Notification of Funding

5. Supporting Documentation

6. Cooperative Agreement– Funds obligation mechanism

Process

• Dollars are obligated – now what?

Fiscal Year of Fund Obligation

Closing DeadlinePayment Request

Deadline

2011 March 31, 2013 August 31, 2013

2012 March 31, 2014 August 31, 2014

2013 March 31, 2015 August 31, 2015

Funding Match