USDA earmarks $332 million for conservation easements

One of USDA's voluntary conservation programs for producers - the Agricultural Conservation Easement Program (ACEP) - will provide $332 million in financial and technical assistance to farmers, ranchers and other private landowners who enroll acreage in conservation easements by May 15. There are four easement options offered through ACEP: -Permanent easements, in which the property is held as an easement in perpetuity and NRCS pays 100 percent of the easement value and between 75 and 100 percent of restoration costs. -30-year easements, which expire after 30 years and NRCS pays 50 to 75 percent of the purchase price of the easement and of the restoration costs. -Term easements, which are effective for as long as applicable state law allows. NRCS pays 50 to 75 percent of the purchase price for the easement and of its restoration. -30-year contracts, which are only available on land owned by Native American tribes. The 2014 farm bill created the ACEP program by combining the Farm and Ranch Lands Protection Program (FRPP), the Grassland Reserve Program (GRP) and the Wetlands Reserve Program (WRP). The spending breakdown between the two missions of ACEP - open land and wetland easements - will roughly follow the historical breakdown of the FRPP, GRP and WRP programs with about 60 percent of the funding going toward wetland easements and the remaining funding supporting open space easements, NRCS Chief Jason Weller said today during a conference call...more