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
FRPP
CE 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 Allocation
1. varies
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Request for Proposals
Ranking of Proposals
Notification of Funding
Supporting Documentation
Cooperative Agreement
– Funds obligation mechanism
Process
• Dollars are obligated – now what?
Fiscal Year of Fund
Obligation
Closing Deadline
Payment 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