We deliver conservation solutions so agricultural producers can protect natural resources and feed a growing world.
The Wetland Reserve Easements Program (WREP) under the Wetlands Reserve Easements component of the Agriculture Conservation Easement Program (ACEP) focuses on encouraging state agencies, county and local governments, nongovernmental organizations, and American Indian tribes to collaborate with the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) to protect, restore, and enhance wetlands on private and tribal lands. The program supports voluntary enrollment of eligible lands into easements to provide a multitude of ecological benefits, including habitat for wildlife, improved water quality, reduced flooding, groundwater recharge, and protection of biological diversity. WREP facilitates the restoration and protection of wetlands within agricultural landscapes, emphasizing partnerships and leveraging additional restoration or enhancement contributions beyond NRCS requirements. Through these efforts, WREP aims to achieve more significant landscape impacts, offering both ecological and community benefits.
The NRCS will give priority to project applications that: contribute substantial matching resources from partners; align with the aims and directives of NRCS Landscape Conservation Initiatives; safeguard habitats crucial for migratory birds and wildlife dependent on wetlands; deliver tangible advantages to species at federal and state levels that are threatened or endangered; and implement focused engagement efforts towards underrepresented segments within the agricultural sector.