Why Choose CRP? You Benefit. Land, Water and Wildlife Benefit. 

The Non-Floodplain Wetlands Initiative provides incentives to landowners and farmers who restore upland 

wetlands, particularly prairie pothole and playa lake wetlands in the Great Plains. The Conservation Reserve 

Program (CRP) provides farmers and landowners with initiatives like this to achieve many farming and 

conservation goals. Whatever the conservation challenge – soil conservation, water quality protection, or wildlife 

habitat enhancement – CRP is a proven land performance and management solution.

Farm Service Agency USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer

Filter Runoff | Improve Water Quality | Enhance Wildlife Habitat

Conservation Reserve Program

NON-FLOODPLAIN WETLANDS INITIATIVE

Affiliated Practice: 

CP-23A Wetland Restoration, NonFloodplain

For more information about this individual 

practice, visit: http://www.fsa.usda.gov

And why are they important?

Prairie Pothole wetlands are dynamic depressional wetlands fed by 

precipitation and groundwater. These wetlands provide vital habitat 

for ducks and other wildlife. They also improve the overall environment 

through carbon sequestration, floodwater storage, erosion control, and 

agricultural run-off filtration. 

Playa lakes are shallow, seasonal wetlands that collect water from the 

surrounding area. They create temporary wetlands that serve as the 

primary source of recharge for aquifers, sequester carbon, and create habitat for birds and other wildlife. In some cases, between 10 and 25 

percent of annual water applied through irrigation is replaced by groundwater recharge by playa lakes. 

What are Prairie Pothole and Playa Lake Wetlands? 

Photos courtesy of Playa Lake Joint Venture. Jerry Holden, Armstrong County, Texas and Rocky Mountain Bird Observatory. ConocoPhillips Grant Project, Nebraska, respectively
Farm Service Agency USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer

Non-Floodplain Wetlands 

Initiative Benefits 

The non-floodplain wetlands initiative restores prairie pothole 

wetlands and playa lakes that lie outside of a 100-year 

floodplain. It compensates landowners and farmers for taking 

less productive land susceptible to ponding out of production. 

Restored wetlands also establish vital habitat for game and 

native wildlife. It also decreases sediment flow and contaminant 

runoff, sequesters carbon, and controls erosion.

Impact

• Prairie potholes provide breeding habitat for more than half of North America’s waterfowl

• Potholes provide hydrologic storage that can reduce downstream flood damage

• Buffers around depressional wetlands provide habitat for grassland birds - a group of species 

that are in sharp decline

• Prairie Pothole Region (Northern U.S.) provides refuge for approximately 35 species of migrating and breeding shorebirds, such as the White-rumped Sandpiper, Long-billed Curlew, 

Dowitchers, and Lesser Yellow Legs.

• Playa lakes serve as the primary source of recharge for aquifers 

• Wetlands promote carbon sequestration

Financial Benefits

• 10-15 years of annual rental payments with an 

 additional 20% Rental Rate Incentive 

• Payments covering 90% of the eligible costs 

of establishing the wetland restoration practice

 - 50% from a Cost-Share Payment and

- 40% from a Practice Incentive Payment (PIP) 

• Sign-up Incentive Payment (SIP) up to $150/acre

• Additional incentives may be available in your

 state under the Conservation Reserve

 Enhancement Program (CREP) 

CRP

For more information, contact your local USDA Farm Service Agency: http://offices.usda.gov

Photos provided by Iowa Dept. of Agriculture-Div of Soil Conservation, Ron Nichols, NRCS and Lynn Betts, NRCS respectively