USDA Announces New Funding for Agricultural Conservation Easement Programs

The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) announces new funding for the Agricultural Conservation Easement Program (ACEP) for fiscal year 2025 as part of President Biden and Vice President Harris’ Investing in America agenda. Administered by USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS). The program helps landowners and other eligible entities conserve, restore, and protect wetlands, productive agricultural lands, and grasslands at risk of conversion to non-grassland uses. Healthy wetlands, grasslands, and farmlands sequester carbon and provide many other natural resource benefits. The funding is made possible by the Inflation Reduction Act —the largest investment in climate action in history.  

“Thanks to President Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act, we have additional resources to help fund Agricultural Conservation Easement Program work to protect lands in conservation easements,” said USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service Chief Terry Cosby. “ACEP continues to be a valuable and effective conservation tool that provides long-term protection of our nation’s farmland and wetland resources.”  

NRCS accepts applications year-round for ACEP Agricultural Land Easements (ACEP-ALE) and Wetland Reserve Easements (ACEP-WRE).  Interested producers, landowners, and partners should apply by the next two batching dates, Oct. 4, 2024, or Dec. 20, 2024, to be considered for these two state-led funding cycles. 

For California, the ACEP-ALE and ACEP-WRE application batching periods are: 

• October 4^th- ACEP Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) Funding
• December 20^th- ACEP IRA and ACEP Farm Bill Funding

In fiscal year 2025, the California ACEP priorities for IRA funding are unchanged from last fiscal year. IRA statute prioritizes eligible land that will most reduce, capture, avoid, or sequester carbon dioxide, methane, or nitrous oxide emissions. The following ACEP-IRA program-eligible areas are prioritized in California:

IRA ACEP-WRE

• Highly organic soils that will optimize the soil carbon sequestration potential and prevent increased greenhouse gas emissions through habitat protection, restoration of previously cultivated areas, and natural hydrology to keep the soils saturated and anaerobic.
• Approved localized priorities: a) montane wet meadows and b) vernal pools.

IRA ACEP-ALE

• Program-eligible agricultural lands currently classified as grassland or native vegetation (e.g., California rangelands, sagebrush, vernal pool grasslands, wet meadows) where NRCS has identified a high threat of conversion to a non-grassland use.
• Program-eligible cropland or grassland where NRCS has identified a high threat of conversion to a non-agricultural use.
• Active agricultural rice cultivation on subsiding highly organic soils.

The Inflation Reduction Act included $1.4 billion in additional funding for ACEP over five years and revised ACEP authority, providing funding for easements that will maximize the reduction, capture, avoidance, or sequestration of greenhouse gas emissions. The fiscal year 2025 nationally authorized amount for the Inflation Reduction Act funding for ACEP is $500 million. 

ACEP is also a covered program in the President’s Justice40 Initiative, which aims to ensure 40% of the overall benefits of certain federal climate, clean energy and other investment areas flow to disadvantaged communities that are marginalized by underinvestment and overburdened by pollution.