The Swamp Stomp

Volume 15, Issue 11

On February 26, 2015, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced that the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is accepting public comments on its interim final rule for the new Agricultural Conservation Easement program (ACEP). The program intends to assist producers protect working agricultural lands and wetlands. ACEP is a result of the 2014 Farm Bill that consolidated three previous conservation easement programs in order to make it easier for diverse agricultural landowners to fully benefit from conservation initiatives.

Vilsack said, “Since 2009, USDA has worked with producers and private landowners to enroll a record number of acres in conservation programs. This interim final rule takes into account recommendations from agricultural landowners and conservation stakeholders about how to better streamline and enhance conservation easement processes.”

Administered by the USDA’s Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS), ACEP is a voluntary program created to protect and restore critical wetlands on both private and tribal lands through the wetland reserve easement component, as well as conserving grasslands, including rangeland, pastureland, and shrubland. Farmers, ranchers, and non-industrial private forest landowners are also encouraged to maintain their private and tribal land in a state of agricultural use through the agricultural land easement component.

State, local, and non-governmental organizations that implement farmland or grassland protection programs are eligible under ACEP’s agricultural land component to partner with USDA in order to purchase conservation easements. In recent years, NRCS’ easement programs have been an essential aid to the advancement of landscape-scale private lands conservation.

During the 2014 fiscal year, NRCS used $328 million in ACEP funding to admit an estimated 143,833 acres of farmland, grassland, and wetlands through 485 new easements. In Florida alone, ACEP funds purchased 6,700 acres in the Northern Everglades Watershed that support the restoration and protection for the habitats of a variety of listed species, such as the Wood Stork, Crested caracara, and the Eastern Indigo Snake. Further funds were used in Georgia to complete the Roundabout Swamp project by employing 270 acres of the Carolina Bay to assist the restoration and protection of the entire bay ecosystem to historic hydrology and vegetation.

ACEP’s agricultural land easement also provides numerous benefits to landowners and citizens. The easements assure the long-term sustainability of the nation’s food supply by preventing productive working lands being converted into land used for non-agricultural purposes. Other benefits pertain to environmental quality, historic preservation, wildlife habitat, and protection of open spaces.

Furthermore, under the ACEP’s wetland component, NRCS provides both technical and financial aid to private and tribal landowners in order to assist restoration, protection, and enhancement of wetlands. This funding provides habitats for fish and wildlife, including endangered and threatened species, improves water quality by filtering out sediments and chemicals, reduces damage from flooding, recharges groundwater, protects biological diversity, and provides opportunities for educational, scientific, and some recreational activities.

The official notice of the proposed ACEP interim rule can be found at https://www.federalregister.gov/articles/2015/02/27/2015-03781/agricultural-conservation-easement-program. Public comment remains open for 60 days. Any electronic comments can be submitted at http://www.regulations.gov/#!home. Comments can also be mailed to Public Comments Processing, Attn: Docket No. NRCS-2014-0011, Regulatory and Agency Policy Team, Strategic Planning and Accountability, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Natural Resources Conservation Service, 5601 Sunnyside Avenue, Building 1-1112D, Beltsville, MD 20705. For more information, please refer to the ACEO page at http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/main/national/programs/easements/acep/ or the Farm Bill Program Rules at http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/detail/national/programs/farmbill/?cid=stelprdb1263599.