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Comment period on ACEP rule extended

NRCS

The USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service is extending the public comment period for the Agricultural Conservation Easement Program (ACEP) interim rule until May 28th.  The original deadline was Tuesday, April 28th.

The 2014 Farm Bill consolidated three previous conservation easement programs into ACEP, a voluntary program designed to help landowners protect working agricultural lands and wetlands.  The program encourages farmers and ranchers and non-industrial private forest landowners to keep their land in agricultural use through easements.  The rule also helps restore critical wetlands on private and tribal lands through a wetland reserve easement component.  While retaining many of the standards of the three previous programs, there are some differences as described in the interim rule.

Under the agricultural land easement component, NRCS provides matching funds to State, Tribal, and local governments, and nongovernmental organizations with farm and ranch land protection programs to purchase permanent agricultural land easements.

Under the wetland reserve easement component, NRCS protects wetlands by purchasing directly from owners a reserved interest in eligible land or entering into 30-year contracts on acreage owned by Indian Tribes, in each case providing for the restoration, enhancement, and protection of wetlands and associated lands. Wetland reserve easements may be permanent, 30-years, or the maximum duration authorized by State law.

The official notice of the proposed ACEP interim rule can be found here.

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