Skip Navigation

Wetland Reserve Easements

A banner advertising the Agricultural Land Easements Program - ACEP-WRE. A picture of a wetland easement has text overlaid on top reading

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.


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 up to 100 percent of the restoration costs. NRCS also 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.

Wetland Reserve Easements
 		 How to get Wetland Reserve Easement
 

 

Eligibility

Land eligible for wetland reserve easements 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.

Landowners must have owned the land for 24 months prior to submitting an application. Waivers to the 24 month ownership requirement can be considered for circumstances where landowner changes still involve the majority of previous owners such as with ownership transfers into Trusts or ownership by means of inheritance and in very limited cases where the land is under an imminent threat of development.

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 restoration easement plan. This plan restores, protects, and enhances the wetland’s functions and values.

Press Release Announcing FY 2022 Ranking, Batching Dates

Program Application Forms and other documents:

  1. Information letter to interested landowners
  2. Agreement for the Purchase of a Conservation Easement
  3. WRE Warranty Easement Deed
  4. Subordination Agreement and Limited Lien Waiver
  5. Landowner Disclosure Worksheet
  6. Landowner Application Package Checklist (instructions for submitting a complete application package)
  7. Conservation Program Application (dated October 2021)
  8. Conservation Program Application Instructions
  9. AD-1026
  10. CCC-941
  11. SF-1199
  12. CCC-902I for Individuals
  13. CCC-902E for Entities
  14. NH FY2022 ACEP-WRE Ranking Criteria
  15. Easement Compensation Rates (2022 updates coming soon)
  16. Wetland Reserve Easement (WRE) Appraisal Specifications
  17. NRCS Easement Program Land Survey Specifications (June 2018)
  18. Supplemental Agreement for a Landowner Procured Boundary Survey
  19. NH FY2021 ACEP-WRE Practice & Cost List(2022 updates coming soon)
  20. WRE 24 Month Ownership Waiver Guidance

 

The information in these documents are for general reference only. Final GARC values will be determined by New Hampshire NRCS staff.

Program Contact:

Brooke Stubbs,
Resource Conservationist for Easement Programs
USDA-NRCS
273 Locust St., Suite 2D
Dover, NH  03820
603-868-9931 x106

 

WRE and WRP Archived Documents from prior years