United States Department of Agriculture
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Wetlands Reserve Program (WRP)

The Wetlands Reserve Program (WRP) is a voluntary program that provides technical and financial assistance to eligible private individuals (typically land owners or leaseholders) or tribal entities to address wetland, wildlife habitat, soil, water, and related natural resource concerns. The program provides an opportunity for eligible participants to receive financial incentives to enhance wetlands in exchange for temporarily or permanently retiring marginal land from agriculture.

The program offers four enrollment options. These are establishing a permanent easement, granting a 30-year easement or contract (the latter only being available on Tribally owned lands) and re-establishing degraded or lost wetland habitat through a restoration cost-share agreement. Potential financial benefits of each option are shown in the following table:

The following documents require Adobe Acrobat.

Applicants must submit a completed NRCS-CPA-1200 accessible by clicking here.

2012 USDA NRCS New Mexico Wetland Reserve Program Benefits Summary
Enrollment Option (Linked to associated contracting document)
Duration
Eligible Applicant
Restoration Cost Share
Land Owner Compensation
Restoration Cost-Share Agreement Length of time to complete scheduled restoration practices plus 10 years. Private Landowners or Indian Tribes 75 percent NRCS /
25 percent Landowner		 Not Applicable
30-Year Contract

30 Years

 Acreage Owned by Indian Tribes Only

75 percent NRCS /
25 percent Landowner

Lesser of:
67.5 percent of the Appraised Land Value (the NM Geographic Area Rate Cap) or Landowner Offer not to exceed $3,750/ac
30-Year Easement 30 Years Private Landowners  or Indian Tribes 75 percent NRCS /
25 percent Landowner
Permanent Easement Perpetuity Private Landowners or Indian Tribes 100 percent NRCS

Lesser of:
90 percent of the Appraised Land Value (the NM Geographic Area Rate Cap) or Landowner Offer not to exceed $5,000/ac

First fiscal year 2012 Batching Period ended December 2, 2012. However, applications are accepted on a continuous basis.

Generally, in New Mexico land may be considered eligible land if NRCS determines that:

  1. The enrollment of such land maximizes wildlife benefits and wetland functions and values; and
  2. The likelihood of the successful restoration of such land and the resultant wetland functions and values merit inclusion in the program taking into consideration the cost of the restoration; and
  3. Such land is farmed wetland or converted wetland together with the adjacent land that is functionally dependent on the wetlands, except that converted wetland where the conversion was not commenced prior to December 23, 1985, shall not be eligible to be enrolled in the program.

Land must have been owned by the applicant for 7-years prior to program enrollment, unless a waiver is obtained. Basis for weaver requests include land inheritance, certain foreclosure situations, and lands not acquired for the purpose of participating in WRP.

For the purposes of enrollment into WRP, a “certified” or “official” wetland determination, as defined by Title 180 –National Food Security Act Manual PART 514, is not required to determine eligibility.

Applicants must submit a completed NRCS-CPA-1200 accessible by clicking here.

For additional information contact:

Seth Fiedler
Resource Conservationist
Phone:  (505) 761-4416

Last Modified: 04/18/2012