WASHINGTON, DC – USDA and private landowners have partnered to protect more than 5 million acres of wetlands, grasslands, and prime farmland according to the latest information from USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS). Since October, producers nationwide have enrolled 110,000 acres in new conservation easements. NRCS has offered conservation easements through the Farm Bill for 28 years, through programs like the Agricultural Conservation Easement (ACEP), which helps landowners, land trusts, and other entities protect, restore, and enhance wetlands, grasslands, and working farms and ranches through conservation easements. Wetland easements totaling over 2.8 million acres nationwide help to improve water quality by filtering sediments and chemicals, reducing flooding, recharging groundwater, protecting biological diversity, and providing opportunities for educational, scientific, and undeveloped recreational activities. Agricultural land easements, including grassland easements, total more than 1.9 million acres. Landowners with an interest in enrolling in a conservation easement may submit proposals to the NRCS state office to acquire conservation easements on eligible land. To enroll land through wetland reserve easements, landowners should contact their local USDA Service Center.
(SOURCE: All Ag News)