United States Department of Agriculture

USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service offers voluntary Farm Bill 

conservation programs that benefit agricultural producers and the environment.

Benefits

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. Land protected by agricultural land easements provides additional public 

benefits, including environmental quality, historic preservation, wildlife habitat 

and protection of open space.

Wetland Reserve Easements provide habitat for fish and wildlife, including threatened and endangered species, improve water quality by filtering sediments and 

chemicals, reduce flooding, recharge groundwater, protect biological diversity and 

provide opportunities for educational, scientific and limited recreational activities.

Helping People Help the Land

Overview

The Agricultural Conservation 

Easement Program (ACEP) 

provides financial and technical 

assistance to help conserve 

agricultural lands and wetlands 

and their related benefits.

 Under the Agricultural Land 

Easements component, NRCS 

helps Indian tribes, state and 

local governments and nongovernmental organizations 

protect working agricultural 

lands and limit non-agricultural 

uses of the land. 

Under the Wetlands Reserve 

Easements component, NRCS 

helps to restore, protect and 

enhance enrolled wetlands.

Agricultural Conservation Easement Program

March 2014

ACEP
Agricultural Land Easements

NRCS provides financial assistance 

to eligible partners for purchasing 

Agricultural Land Easements that 

protect the agricultural use and 

conservation values of eligible 

land. In the case of working 

farms, the program helps farmers 

and ranchers keep their land in 

agriculture. The program also 

protects grazing uses and related 

conservation values by conserving 

grassland, including rangeland, 

pastureland and shrubland. Eligible 

partners include Indian tribes, 

state and local governments and 

non-governmental organizations 

that have farmland or grassland 

protection programs. 

Under the Agricultural Land 

component, NRCS may contribute 

up to 50 percent of the fair market 

value of the agricultural land 

easement. Where NRCS determines 

that grasslands of special 

environmental significance will be 

protected, NRCS may contribute 

up to 75 percent of the fair market 

value of the agricultural land 

easement.

Wetland Reserve Easements

NRCS also 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. For 

acreage owned by an Indian tribe, 

there is an additional enrollment 

option of a 30-year contract. 

Through the wetland reserve 

enrollment options, NRCS may enroll 

eligible land through: 

•	 Permanent Easements are 

conservation easements in 

perpetuity. NRCS pays 100 

percent of the easement 

value for the purchase of the 

easement, and between 75 to 

100 percent of the restoration 

costs.

•	 30-Year Easements expire after 30 

years. Under 30-year easements, 

NRCS pays 50 to 75 percent 

of the easement value for the 

purchase of the easement, and 

between 50 to 75 percent of the 

restoration costs. 

•	 Term Easements are easements 

that are for the maximum 

duration allowed under 

applicable state laws. NRCS 

pays 50 to 75 percent of the 

easement value for the purchase 

of the term easement and 

between 50 to 75 percent of the 

restoration costs. 

•	 30-year Contracts are only 

available to enroll acreage 

owned by Indian tribes. 

Program payment rates are 

commensurate with 30-year 

easements.

For wetland reserve easements, 

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.

Eligibility

Land eligible for agricultural 

easements includes cropland, 

rangeland, grassland, pastureland 

and nonindustrial private 

forest land. NRCS will prioritize 

applications that protect agricultural 

uses and related conservation values 

of the land and those that maximize 

the protection of contiguous acres 

devoted to agricultural use. 

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. 

To enroll land through agricultural 

land easements, NRCS enters into 

cooperative agreements with 

eligible partners. Each easement is 

required to have an agricultural land 

easement plan that promotes the 

long-term viability of the land. 

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. 

How to apply

•	 Agricultural land easements - 

eligble partners may submit 
This wetland area is used as an outdoor classroom on the Pyramid Lake 

Indian Reservation, Washoe County, NV.

USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer. 

www.nrcs.usda.gov.

What’s New in ACEP 

The ACEP is a new program that 

consolidates three former programs 

-- the Wetlands Reserve Program, 

Grassland Reserve Program, and 

Farm and Ranch Lands Protection 

Program.

proposals to NRCS to acquire 

conservation easements on 

eligible land.

•	 Wetland reserve easements - 

landowners may apply at any 

time at a local USDA Service 

Center.

More Information

For more information visit your local 

USDA Service Center or the NRCS 

Farm Bill website at 

www.nrcs.usda.gov/farmbill.

Find your local USDA Service 

Center 

http://offices.usda.gov