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Wetlands Reserve Easements (WRE) help private and tribal landowners protect, restore and enhance wetlands which have been previously degraded due to agricultural uses.
NRCS is streamlining its Agricultural Conservation Easement Program to improve the program for landowners and partners. Learn more about these changes.
Wetland Reserve Easements component of the Agricultural Conservation Easement Program provides habitat for migratory waterfowl and other wetland dependent wildlife, including threatened and endangered species; improves water quality by filtering sediments and chemicals; reduces flooding; recharges groundwater; protects biological diversity; provides resilience to climate change; and provides opportunities for educational, scientific and limited recreational activities.
Eligible landowners include
Land eligible for wetland reserve easements includes privately held farmed or converted wetlands that were previously degraded due to agricultural uses and can be successfully and cost-effectively restored. NRCS will prioritize applications based the easement’s potential for protecting and enhancing habitat for migratory birds and other wildlife.
To enroll land through wetland reserve easements, 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 Plan of Operations (WRPO). This plan will detail practices to help restore, protect and enhance the wetlands functions and values.
Wetland Reserve enrollment options include:
For all Wetland Reserve Easements options, NRCS pays all costs associated with recording the easement in the local land records office, including recording fees, charges for abstracts, survey and appraisal fees and title insurance.
EPD FY2022 Area Wide Market Analysis: Statement of Work Overview — This is a required training for any and all appraisers who will be conducting Area Wide Market Analysis for the Natural Resources Conservation Service in FY22.
The Wetland Reserve Enhancement Partnership (WREP) is a voluntary program through which NRCS enters into agreements with eligible partners to leverage resources to carry out high priority wetland protection, restoration, and enhancement and to improve wildlife habitat.
Agricultural Land Easements help private and tribal landowners, land trusts, and other entities such as state and local governments protect croplands and grasslands on working farms and ranches by limiting non-agricultural uses of the land through conservation easements.
NRCS provides technical and financial assistance directly to private landowners and Indian tribes to restore, protect, and enhance wetlands through the purchase of a Wetland Reserve Easement (WRE). For acreage owned by an Indian tribe, there is an additional enrollment option of a 30-year contract. For WRE, NRCS pays all costs associated with recording the easement in the local land records office, including recording fees, charges for abstracts, survey and appraisal fees, and title insurance.
Any interested farmer or rancher may submit an application for participation in WRE. The State Conservationist has established a sign-up period to select the highest ranked applications for funding based on the NRCS ranking process. WRE contract approval is dependent on program eligibility determinations.
ACEP-WRE applications must be received by January 5, 2024.
WRE Program Contact
Erik Bray, Easement Program Specialist
Natural Resources Conservation Service
Reno State Office, Nevada
Phone: 775-857-8500
Email: erik.bray@usda.gov
Please use the application forms and supplemental information below for submission.
To offer land for enrollment in WRE, eligible partners must submit all of the respective application documents listed above for the WRE Entity, Landowner, and Parcel to the Nevada State Office. Packets can be submitted by: email; USPS, FedEx, or UPS; or can be dropped off at your local NRCS office. If a packet is emailed, hard copies of all the documents will be required to be provided for records purposes. All WRE application packet documents must be complete, fully executed and received by 5:00 P.M. PST on January 5, 2024 to be considered for FY 2024 funding.
Submit application packets to NRCS by:
USPA, UPS or FedEx: USDA-NRCS State Office, Attn: Easement Programs, 300 Booth Street, Room 2070, Reno, NV 89509
Email:
Drop off: Local USDA Service Center, NRCS Field Office, District Conservationist
Landowners may submit an ACEP-WRE application directly to NRCS. ACEP applications are accepted on a continuous basis, but the NRCS State Conservationist establishes annual sign-up periods to select the highest ranked applications for funding based on the NRCS ranking process. NRCS ACEP contract approval is dependent on program eligibility determinations.
All landowners of the property offered for ACEP-WRE enrollment must meet Farm Service Agency (FSA) payment eligibility criteria as it applies to the NRCS easement programs. Landowners are encouraged to work with FSA to complete the landowner program eligibility filings timely. The Nevada NRCS ACEP Applicant Eligibility Determination Deadline is February 2, 2024 for landowners.
Landowners should visit the FSA at a local USDA Service Center for assistance with establishing or updating their farm records and filing their program eligibility forms. If additional assistance is needed, please contact the local NRCS field office.
Landowner must meet FSA eligibility by February 2, 2024.
NRCS will use the checklists and other application materials submitted to determine application eligibility.
WRE program participation has land and landowner eligibility requirements. Land eligible for WRE enrollment includes farmed or converted wetland that can be successfully and cost-effectively restored. NRCS will prioritize applications based the easement’s potential for protecting and enhancing habitat for migratory birds and other wildlife. There are many other land eligibility factors that will be considered during application review and site visits to the property, including hazardous materials and title issues.
To enroll land into a WRE, NRCS enters into a purchase agreement with eligible private landowners or Indian tribes. The purchase agreement includes the right for NRCS to develop and implement a Wetland Reserve Plan of Operations (WRPO). The WRPO plan details the process to restore, protect, and enhance wetland functions and values.
WRE requires that all landowners of the property offered for enrollment meet the FSA payment eligibility criteria as it applies to the NRCS easement programs. Landowners must ensure they establish or update their property records and applicable payment eligibility filings with FSA for the Fiscal Year which the application will be submitted.
The State Conservationist, in consultation with the State Technical Advisory Committee has developed ranking criteria to prioritize and subsequently fund applications addressing priority natural resource concerns in Nevada. Ranking assessments include a review of site vulnerability, existing conditions, and potential resource concerns identified on the land at the time of application.
FY 2024 WRE Ranking information can be found in the additional documents section below.
Easement values for WRE are based on the lowest value of an appraisal, a Geographic Area Rate Cap (GARC), or a landowner offer. To determine the GARC, Nevada uses a Market Analysis to assess the value of specific land uses in defined geographic areas. Sources and types of information considered in developing the GARC included data sets of prior appraisals for the easement program; location of the land; national, state, or local agriculture statistics; historical values accepted and rejected by landowners for program participation; rates paid by other conservation easement programs that have similar purposes; neighboring geographic areas.
The Nevada GARC can be found in the additional document section below.
There are three enrollment options under WRE: permanent easements, 30-year easements, and the grazing reserved rights option.
Permanent Easements: Permanent Easements are conservation easements in perpetuity. NRCS pays 100 percent of the easement values based on the lowest value of an appraisal, a GARC, or a landowner offer (as described above) for the purchase of the easement. Additionally, NRCS pays 100 percent of the restoration costs.
30-year Easements: 30-year easements expire after 30 years. Under 30-year easements, NRCS pays 75 percent of the easement values based on the lowest value of an appraisal, a GARC, or a landowner offer (as described above) for the purchase of the easement. Additionally, NRCS pays 75 percent of the restoration costs.
Grazing Reserved Rights Option: Nevada NRCS is offering a Grazing Reserved Rights Option in specific geographic areas of the state as part of WRE. Nevada intends to offer permanent and 30-year easement enrollments for FY 2023 at the prevailing rate of 75% of the 85% GARC or 63.75% of FMV for permanent easements, and 47.81% of FMV for 30-year enrollments that meet the criteria for enrollment.
Deeds for the three options can be found in the additional documents section below.
Contact your local service center to start your application.
Do you farm or ranch and want to make improvements to the land that you own or lease?
Natural Resources Conservation Service offers technical and financial assistance to help farmers, ranchers and forest landowners.
To get started with NRCS, we recommend you stop by your local NRCS field office. We’ll discuss your vision for your land.
NRCS provides landowners with free technical assistance, or advice, for their land. Common technical assistance includes: resource assessment, practice design and resource monitoring. Your conservation planner will help you determine if financial assistance is right for you.
We’ll walk you through the application process. To get started on applying for financial assistance, we’ll work with you:
Once complete, we’ll work with you on the application, or CPA 1200.
Applications for most programs are accepted on a continuous basis, but they’re considered for funding in different ranking periods. Be sure to ask your local NRCS district conservationist about the deadline for the ranking period to ensure you turn in your application in time.
As part of the application process, we’ll check to see if you are eligible. To do this, you’ll need to bring:
If you don’t have a farm number, you can get one from USDA’s Farm Service Agency. Typically, the local FSA office is located in the same building as the local NRCS office. You only need a farm number if you’re interested in financial assistance.
NRCS will take a look at the applications and rank them according to local resource concerns, the amount of conservation benefits the work will provide and the needs of applicants. View Application Ranking Dates by State.
If you’re selected, you can choose whether to sign the contract for the work to be done.
Once you sign the contract, you’ll be provided standards and specifications for completing the practice or practices, and then you will have a specified amount of time to implement. Once the work is implemented and inspected, you’ll be paid the rate of compensation for the work if it meets NRCS standards and specifications.
