Alaska ACEP

Overview

The Agricultural Conservation Easement Program (ACEP) provides financial and technical assistance to help conserve working agricultural lands and restore wetlands impacted by agricultural production. ACEP encourages private owners to maintain land for farming and ranching and to protect critical wetland resources for wildlife habitat and water quality. Through the voluntary sale of an easement, landowners limit future development to protect these key resources.

The program offers two types of easements:

• Agricultural Land Easements (ALE) protect the long-term viability of the nation’s food supply by preventing conversion of productive working lands to non-agricultural uses.  Land protected by agricultural land easements provides additional public benefits, including environmental quality, historic preservation, wildlife habitat and protection of open space.
   
• Wetlands Reserve Easements (WRE) provide habitat for fish and wildlife, including threatened and endangered species, improve water quality by filtering sediments and chemicals, reduce flooding, recharge groundwater, and protect biological diversity by restoring wetlands historically impacted by agricultural production.

Application Deadlines

Applications may be submitted at any time throughout the year. NRCS establishes application deadlines each fiscal year to evaluate easement applications that will be considered for funding in that fiscal year. Any applications received past the deadline will still be considered the following fiscal year. 

• October 4, 2024
• December 20, 2024

Agricultural Land Easements (ALE)

NRCS provides financial assistance to eligible partners for purchasing Agricultural Land Easements (ALE) that protect the agricultural use and conservation values of eligible land. In the case of working farms, the program helps farmers and ranchers keep their land in agriculture. The program also protects grazing uses and related conservation values by conserving grassland, including rangeland, pastureland, and shrubland.  Eligible partners include Indian tribes, state and local governments, and non-governmental organizations that have farmland or grassland protection programs.

Under the Agricultural Land component, NRCS may contribute up to 50 percent of the fair market value of the agricultural land easement.  Where NRCS determines that grasslands of special environmental significance will be protected, NRCS may contribute up to 75 percent of the fair market value of the agricultural land easement. 

Eligibility

Land eligible for Agricultural Land Easements (ALE) includes cropland, rangeland, grassland, pastureland, and limited acreage of nonindustrial private forest land. NRCS will prioritize applications that protect agricultural uses and related conservation values of the land and those that maximize the protection of contiguous acres devoted to agricultural use. 

To enroll working agricultural lands, NRCS enters into cooperative agreements with eligible partners. Each easement is required to have an agricultural land easement plan that promotes the long-term viability of the land.

How do I find an eligible partner to hold my Agricultural Land Easement?

Visit the following websites to learn how to find an eligible partner to hold conservation easements.

• Farmland Protection Directory     
• Land Trust Alliance     

How to Apply

To enroll land through Agricultural Land Easements (ALE) , landowners establish farm or ranch records and USDA program eligibility with USDA Farm Service Agency (FSA), and then apply to eligible entities, such as land trusts. Eligible entities select the priority parcels, commit matching funds, and submit a complete application packet to the NRCS State Office including the entity application (CPA-41) and the landowner parcel sheet (CPA-41A), along with requisite attachments. Multiple parcels for different landowners may be submitted under one entity application packet.  Entity eligibility, entity matching funds, and landowner eligibility must be documented at the time of application submission. 

Application Forms:

• AK ACEP-ALE Entity application (1.41 MB)
• AK ACEP-ALE parcel sheet for entity application (2.04 MB)

Application Ranking

• Alaska FY25 ACEP-ALE Ranking Questions (193.54 KB)

More Information about ACEP-ALE

The Farmland Information Center, in partnership with USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, created the ACEP-ALE Toolkit, a comprehensive collection of resources and tools to help you navigate the process of participating in the Agricultural Conservation Easement Program – Agricultural Land Easements (ACEP-ALE). 

• ACEP-ALE Toolkit website from American Farmland Trust
• ACEP-ALE for Entities website from American Farmland Trust

Wetland Reserve Easements (WRE)

NRCS provides technical and financial assistance directly to private landowners and Indian tribes to restore, protect, and enhance wetlands historically impacted by agricultural production through the purchase of a Wetland Reserve Easement (WRE). 

• AK How Wetland Easements Work (6.83 MB)

Through the wetland reserve enrollment options, NRCS may enroll eligible land through:  

• Permanent Easements – Permanent Easements are conservation easements in perpetuity. NRCS pays 100 percent of the easement value for the purchase of the easement.  Additionally, NRCS pays between 75 to 100 percent of the restoration costs.
• 30-year Easements – 30-year easements expire after 30 years. Under 30-year easements, NRCS pays 50 to 75 percent of the easement value for the purchase of the easement.  Additionally, NRCS pays between 50 to 75 percent of the restoration costs. 
• Term Easements - Term easements are easements that are for the maximum duration allowed under applicable State laws. NRCS pays 50 to 75 percent of the easement value for the purchase of the term easement. Additionally, NRCS pays between 50 to 75 percent of the restoration costs.
• 30-year Contracts – 30-year contracts are only available to enroll acreage owned by Indian tribes, and program payment rates are commensurate with 30-year easements. 

NRCS pays all costs associated with recording the easement in the local land records office, including survey costs, appraisal fees, title insurance, and closing costs.

Eligibility

Land eligible for Wetlands Reserve Easements (WRE) includes wetlands historically impacted by agricultural production that can be successfully and cost-effectively restored. NRCS will prioritize applications based on the feasibility of restoration and the easement's potential for protecting and enhancing habitat for migratory birds and other wildlife.

To enroll wetlands, NRCS enters into purchase agreements with eligible private landowners or Indian tribes that include the right for NRCS to develop and implement a wetland reserve restoration easement plan. This plan serves as the basis for appropriate and feasible practices to restore, protect, and enhance the wetland’s functions and values.

How to Apply

Landowners may apply at any time at the local USDA Service Center. Landowner eligibility must be documented at the time of application submission.   

Application Form:  

• AK Application for ACEP WRE (113.59 KB)

Application Ranking

• Alaska FY25 ACEP WRE Ranking Questions (224.81 KB)

Wetland Reserve Enhancement Partnership (WREP)

The Wetland Reserve Enhancement Partnership is part of the Wetland Reserve Easement (WRE) component of the Agricultural Conservation Easement Program (ACEP), a Farm Bill conservation program. Through WREP, state agencies, county and local governments, non-governmental organizations and American Indian tribes are encouraged to submit proposals for priority project areas to collaborate with NRCS through program and partnership agreements. Once a proposal is accepted for funding the partners work with tribal and private landowners who voluntarily enroll eligible land into easements to protect, restore and enhance wetlands on their properties.

The voluntary nature of NRCS easement programs enables effective integration of wetland restoration on working landscapes, providing benefits to farmers and ranchers who enroll in the program, as well as benefits to the communities where the wetlands exist. Easements enable landowners to adopt a variety of conservation practices with the help of funding from NRCS that improve the function and condition of wetlands. 

Benefits

Wetland Reserve Easements protect important wetlands within an agricultural landscape, provide habitat for fish and wildlife, including threatened and endangered species, improve water quality by filtering sediments and chemicals, reduce flooding, recharge groundwater, protect biological diversity and provide opportunities for educational, scientific and limited recreational activities.

Partner benefits through WREP agreements include:

• Wetland restoration and protection in areas where priorities align to enable greater impacts on the landscape;
• Ability to cost-share restoration or enhancement beyond NRCS requirements through leveraging;
• Ability to provide in-kind staff capacity for acquisition, due diligence and restoration activities.

How Does It Work?

Through WREP, under the Wetlands Reserve Easements component of ACEP, partners work with NRCS to help restore, protect and enhance enrolled wetlands directly with private landowners and Indian tribes through the purchase of an NRCS Wetland Reserve Easement. Eligible lands, which include farmed or converted wetland habitat that can be successfully and cost-effectively restored, may be enrolled under permanent easements, 30-year easements, or 30-year contracts (for acreage owned by Indian Tribes). For lands enrolled through wetland easements, NRCS will also develop and implement a Wetland Reserve Easement restoration plan that will restore, protect, and enhance the wetland’s functions and values.

Partner contributions must equal at least 10 percent of the total estimated costs for easement acquisition related costs and restoration implementation costs. Proposals that provide partner contributions greater than 10 percent will be given higher consideration in the selection process.

Ranking Considerations

NRCS will prioritize applications for projects that:

• provide maximum partner resources as match;
• support the goals and objectives of an NRCS Landscape Conservation Initiatives (see Priority Landscape Initiatives below);
• protect habitat that benefits migratory birds and wetland-dependent wildlife;
• provide direct benefits to federal and state threatened and endangered species; and
• include targeted outreach to underserved groups in the agricultural community.

How to Apply

NRCS is investing up to $50 million in the Wetland Reserve Enhancement Partnership (WREP) in fiscal year 2024, to support conservation partners with local projects that help protect, restore and enhance critical wetlands on agricultural lands.

NRCS is prioritizing proposals that focus on underserved producers who conserve wetlands, contributing to NRCS’ effort to increase equity in its delivery of conservation programs.

Partners looking to learn more about opportunities for WREP funding for fiscal year 2024 are encouraged to attend the WREP workshop on June 20, 2024, at 2 p.m. EDT. 

Partners interested in attending should contact Ken Kriese, national ACEP-WRE program manager, at kenneth.kriese@usda.gov to be added to the Teams invitation.

Proposals are due to NRCS by August 16, 2023. More information about submitting a proposal is located here: NB 300-24-34 LTP-Solicitation for Wetland Reserve Enhancement Partnership Project Proposals for Fiscal Year 2024 Funding: eDirectives (usda.gov)

Alaska WREP Contact

Jackie Kragel
Programs Specialist
Phone: (907) 982-5349
Email: Jackie.Kragel@usda.gov