nrcs.usda.gov/

Agricultural Conservation Easement Program

Agricultural Land Easements 

Ensuring the 

Future of Agriculture 
Natural Resources Conservation Service

1

Keeping Working Lands Working

Impacts of Farm Bill Program on 

Agricultural Lands

Expanding development and population pressures 

pose a threat to keeping farmland in agricultural 

production. 

To address this threat, NRCS provides financial 

assistance through the Agricultural Conservation 

Easement Program (ACEP) to eligible partners 

toward the purchase of Agricultural Land 

Easements (ALE) that protect working croplands 

and grasslands.

Eligible partners include American Indian 

tribes, state and local governments and nongovernmental organizations that have farmland, 

rangeland or grassland protection programs.

These agricultural land easements protect the 

long-term viability of the nation’s food supply 

by preventing conversion of productive working 

lands to non-agricultural uses and conserving vital 

grazing land, including rangeland, pasture and 

shrub land. 

Easements also help keep lands in family hands 

while providing an enhanced opportunity to keep 

productive land available for entry into farming 

through increased availability of affordable land for 

young, beginning, veteran and under-represented 

farmers.

Producers and partners protected more than 1.1 

million acres of farmland and 340,000 acres of 

grassland through ACEP’s predecessor programs 

– Farm and Ranch Lands Protection Program and 

Grassland Reserve Program. 

Since the transition to ACEP in the 2014 Farm Bill, 

NRCS has worked with hundreds of landowners 

and partners to support the preservation of almost 

500,000 acres through agricultural easements. 

Lands protected by conservation easements 

provide additional public benefits, including 

environmental quality, historic preservation, wildlife 

habitat and protection of open space.

Beyond the farm gate, easements contribute to 

a more diverse agricultural landscape and more 

resilient rural economies. Easements also open 

new economic opportunities to those farmers, 

ranchers and rural communities who recognize 

and take advantage of birding, hunting and other 

recreational activities that people enjoy on their 

weekend trips and vacations to the countryside.
Agricultural Conservation Easement Program

2

Protecting Natural Resources

Conservation easements protect the long-term viability of the nation’s food supply by preventing 

conversion of productive working lands to non-agricultural uses. Just as important, these easements 

combined with the adoption of improved management techniques and additional conservation activities 

through an Agricultural Land Easement plan can:

• Curb carbon losses and possibly increase carbon sequestration, especially on highly erodible 

cropland

• Reduce soil erosion

• Improve soil quality, thus contributing to high water infiltration rates and less runoff

• Increase plant and animal diversity

• Improve water quaity

Up to one-half of all North American bird species feed or nest in wetlands.

Agricultural Land Easements
Natural Resources Conservation Service

3

Conservation Easements in Action

NRCS provides assistance to eligible partners for purchasing Agricultural 

Land Easements that protect the agricultural uses and conservation values 

of eligible land. In the case of working farms, the program helps farmers and 

ranchers keep their land in production.

Easements Combat Threats of 

Subdivision Development and Sustain 

Agriculture Forever 

In a county without a single traffic light, the threat 

of development is real. Wallowa County, nestled 

in the majestic Wallowa Mountains in northeastern 

Oregon, is home to about 7,000 year-round 

residents. But with a bustling tourism economy, the 

county receives over 700,000 visitors per year.

Many farmers and ranchers, especially those with 

a view, can earn more capital by sub-dividing their 

property and selling it for housing development, 

rather than keeping it in agricultural production. 

Local farmers like Woody and Megan Wolfe are 

determined to take a stand and protect their way 

of life. Woody and Megan are protecting hundreds 

of acres of their family’s farmland forever through 

agricultural conservation easements. By working 

with the local Wallowa Land Trust, they secured 

two easements on 463 acres of prime farmland 

to ensure the property stays in agriculture for 

generations to come, while also protecting 

valuable fish and wildlife habitat.

One of the easements was completed in 2017 

for 266 acres, in partnership with NRCS through 

ACEP-ALE, a Farm Bill program that pays up 

to half of the appraised easement value. The 

remaining value for the easement is paid by the 

land trust, partner or landowner.

In this case, the Wallowa Land Trust secured 

matching dollars through the Bergstrom 

Foundation, the Penstemon Fund and the Nez 

Perce Tribe. 

The Wolfe Farm has quite the legacy in Wallowa 

County. It’s a 555-acre century farm, and has been 

in the family since 1897. The Wolfes acquired 

additional neighboring acres over the years and 

currently farm more than 2,000 acres.

Woody believes that permanent conservation 

easements are a valuable tool to protect the rural 

way of life in his community and to leave a lasting 

legacy for future generations. “There’s very few 

great places left,” Woody says. 

Through the NRCS ACEP-ALE program, the 

Wolfes have a management plan to use no-till 

farming practices. No-till causes less disturbance 

in the soil, resulting in higher organic matter, better 

water infiltration and less erosion.

They also manage healthy streamside habitats for 

fish and wildlife. The property is teeming with life. 

Sounds of crickets, woodpeckers, song birds and 

frogs abound as the Lostine and Wallowa rivers 

flow through healthy meadows.
Agricultural Conservation Easement Program

4

“It’s worth it to me if I can protect this land forever from subdivision and population pressures, and it stays in agriculture,” Woody says.
Natural Resources Conservation Service

5

Key Sage Grouse Habitat Protected 

in Colorado

A conservation easement on the Yust Ranch in 

northwestern Colorado represents not only the 

preservation of a five-generation ranching entity, 

it also illustrates the vitality of partnerships that 

expand federal programs and initiatives aimed at 

protecting wildlife habitat, particularly for species of 

concern.

The Yust family has been on the ranch since 1884, 

and the family partnered with NRCS and Colorado 

Cattlemen’s Agricultural Land Trust to enroll 955 

acres of land into a conservation easement.

The property encompasses prime sagebrushsteppe, which is habitat for the greater sagegrouse. The Yust family is part of a range-wide 

collaborative effort to voluntarily aid the sage 

grouse and the sagebrush landscape. More 

than 1,500 ranchers in 11 Western states have 

enhanced more than 5.6 million acres of habitat for 

sage grouse, enabling the U.S. Fish and Wildlife 

Service to determine in 2015 that protections 

under the Endangered Species Act were not 

needed for the species. 

300 Year Old Family Farm Preserved

It was 1735 when John and Elizabeth Farnham 

took up residence on 138 acres of farmland 

in scenic Morris, Connecticut. As they tended 

the fields and raised a family, they most likely 

didn’t imagine what life would be like for their 

descendants nearly 300 years later. 

Fast forward to 2017. It was a perfect summer day, 

and the stage was set for celebration! And after 

all the t’s were crossed and the i’s dotted, Anne 

Howson Fellows, an 8th generation descendant 

of John and Elizabeth Farnham, emerged from 

the house in a joyful skip. It was official. Through 

a conservation easement, Farnham Farm will be 

forever protected from development – no purple 

condominiums welcome here!

“This farm has been in the same family since 

1735,” said Thomas Morgart, NRCS State 

Conservationist. “The easement permanently 

prevents it from being developed, which is one 

more step in ensuring farming and agriculture 

remain a growing enterprise in Connecticut.”

Siblings - Cathy Balkun (far left), Anne Howson Fellows (front row 

in pink) and Peter Howson (3rd from right) - surrounded by family at 

their conservation easement celebration.

The Yust ranch harbors prime sage grouse habitat, important for 

trout, recreation and other wildlife. Photo courtesy of Deborah 

Richie with SGI.

Conservation Easement Successes
Agricultural Conservation Easement Program

6

Conservation Easement Protects a 

Vital Stock Trail in Wyoming

Cattlemen, woolgrowers, anglers, hikers and 

hunters will continue to enjoy Beartrap Meadows 

in the Big Horns of Wyoming thanks to a 

conservation easement that will forever protect a 

stock trail used by many ranchers.

Located high in the southern Big Horn Mountains 

near the headwaters of Beartrap Creek, ranchers 

in the region rely on the area as a stopover for 

rest for their cattle and sheep while driving them 

to summer grazing pastures. More than 20,000 

head of livestock travel the trail annually to take 

advantage of the area’s plentiful water and forage.

Through this easement, the Pheasant family will 

preserve the property in its current and historic 

use as a stock trail. “Without it, moving livestock 

between these different drives and pastures 

would be very difficult if not impossible,” said 

Dale Graves, president of the Johnston County 

Cattlemen.

Beartrap Meadows was first settled by Pheasant’s 

grandfather in the early 1900s. Five generations 

of the Pheasant family have been involved in 

the sheep-ranching operation, with the sixth 

generation preparing to carry on the business.

“This land plays such a central role in so many 

peoples’ lives,” Pheasant said. “The conservation 

easement is not just for me or my family. It’s for 

everyone to enjoy.”

The area also provides breeding, nesting and brood-rearing habitat for sandhill cranes, Canada geese, mallards and other 

waterfowl. Plus, the area is home to red-tailed hawk, great horned owl and bald eagle, which can often been seen there. Photo by 

Matt Wells, Wyoming Stock Growers Land Trust.
USDA is an equal opportunity 

provider, employer, and lender.