Article by: Kevin Owens and Chandler Strickland

Edits by: Pierce Young

General property improvements, enhancing habitat for wildlife, and conducting timber stand improvements can often be challenging due to budget constraints for private landowners. Thankfully, there are several ways that landowners can offset the costs of conservation while implementing habitat improvements on their property. 

Efficiency planning - The easiest way to offset costs for wildlife management practices is through planning and problem solving. A key objective for MDWFP's Wildlife Private Lands Program is to meet with landowners to help them meet their wildlife management goals in the most effective way possible. Often, many objectives can be reached just by shared knowledge. Other strategies include cost-saving technology, data collection and analysis, and congregating resources through neighbor cooperatives.

Government funding - There are both Federal and State voluntary cost-share programs that landowners can sign up for. These cost-share programs make annual payments to the landowner for enhancing habitat for wildlife, water quality, and soil erosion prevention. Three popular USDA cost-share programs are CRP (conservation reserve program), CSP (conservation stewardship program), EQIP (environmental quality incentives program), and WRE (Wetlands Reserve Easement).

  • CRP is a 10-15 year voluntary program that encourages landowners through annual payments to convert highly erodible and environmentally sensitive land from agricultural production, allowing them to plant native grasses, trees, or other vegetation to prevent soil erosion, enhance wildlife habitat, and improve water quality.
  • CSP is a 5 year voluntary program with a change to renew for an additional 5 years if all conservation efforts are met and more are needed. The goal of CSP is to encourage landowners that are already taking steps to improve land conditions and to build on those existing conservation efforts. Land improvements through CSP include increased crop resiliency, improved grazing conditions and developing and enhancing wildlife habitat.
  • EQIP is provides financial assistance to forest landowners and agricultural producers that need to address natural resource concerns on their property such as: soil erosion and sedimentation, conserving ground and surface water, improving water and air quality, and creating or improving wildlife habitat. The contract length for EQIP varies depending upon the landowners goals but may not exceed 10 years. 
  • WRE can be a 30-year, or permanent, easement provides habitat for migratory waterfowl and other wetland dependent wildlife, improves water quality by filtering sediments and chemicals, and recharges groundwater. Additionally, NRCS pays between 50 to 100 percent of the restoration costs.

An example of a cost-share program by the State would be the Fire on the Forty Program, where landowners may be reimbursed for prescribed burning and other habitat management projects to promote fire in the landscape in selected focal counties for up to 75% of costs for implementing and conducting prescribed fire up to a maximum per acre rate. 

Sustainable Resource Management (SRM) - Sustainable resource management refers to the careful and responsible use of natural resources to meet current needs without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. One example of SRM is commercial timber cutting. Commercial timber cutting can provide an income from the trees taken but also maintains forest health and improves habitat conditions for wildlife. 

Carbon credits - Landowners can earn carbon credits by enrolling their land into a carbon project and implementing practices such as reforestation, forest conservation, and improving forest management that reduce their carbon footprint. One carbon credit is earned for each metric ton of carbon dioxide their land sequesters. Carbon offsets can be generated through activities like forest conservation, reforestation, and improving forest management. The earned carbon credits can then be sold on voluntary carbon markets to companies or entities that want to offset their emissions. 

For more information about cost-share programs and offsetting the costs of conservation please visit our website: www.mdwfp.com/privatelands