The Wetlands Reserve Program pays per acre based on three things: your county’s Geographic Area Rate Cap (GARC), whether you choose a permanent or time-limited easement, and a separate cost-share for physically restoring the wetland. A permanent easement pays 100 percent of the easement value; a 30-year or term easement pays 50 to 75 percent of that amount.1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 16 USC 3865c – Wetland Reserve Easements Because GARCs are set county by county from local agricultural land values, two owners with similar acreage in different counties can walk away with very different checks. The program you may still know as WRP now operates as Wetland Reserve Easements (WRE) under the Agricultural Conservation Easement Program, administered by NRCS.2Natural Resources Conservation Service. Wetland Reserve Easements (WRE)
What Each Easement Type Pays
The easement you sign determines both the land payment and the restoration cost-share. There are three easement options, plus a contract alternative available only to Indian tribes.
- Permanent easement. Runs forever. NRCS pays 100 percent of the easement value and covers 75 to 100 percent of restoration costs.3Natural Resources Conservation Service. Wetland Reserve Easements (WRE) – Section: How Does It Work
- 30-year easement. Expires after 30 years. NRCS pays 50 to 75 percent of what it would have paid for a permanent easement and covers 50 to 75 percent of restoration costs.3Natural Resources Conservation Service. Wetland Reserve Easements (WRE) – Section: How Does It Work
- Term easement. Lasts the maximum duration your state law allows. Payment matches the 30-year easement: 50 to 75 percent of the permanent value and 50 to 75 percent of restoration costs.3Natural Resources Conservation Service. Wetland Reserve Easements (WRE) – Section: How Does It Work
- 30-year contract for tribal lands. Indian tribes can use a 30-year contract instead of an easement, at rates comparable to the 30-year easement.4eCFR. 7 CFR Part 1468 – Agricultural Conservation Easement Program
Permanent easements pay the most per acre because the development and agricultural rights are gone for good. The shorter options pay less, but the rights come back when the easement ends.
How NRCS Sets the Per-Acre Number
There is no single national rate. Your easement payment equals the lowest of three figures: the fair market value of the land (from a professional appraisal or an area-wide market survey), the GARC for your county, or the price you offer to accept.1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 16 USC 3865c – Wetland Reserve Easements The GARC often controls the outcome, because it is built from local agricultural land sales and tends to sit below a property’s full fair market value.
Geographic Area Rate Caps
NRCS publishes GARCs by state and county each fiscal year, broken out by factors like land use type and water supply. They vary enormously, from a few hundred dollars per acre in parts of the Great Plains to several thousand dollars per acre in states with high farmland values. For FY 2026, individual appraisals for any land use in any county are capped at 80 percent of fair market value, not to exceed $15,000 per acre.5Natural Resources Conservation Service. FY 2026 Geographic Area Rate Caps (GARC) Market Survey Properties outside the acreage range supported by the local GARC require a separate appraisal.
Reductions for Non-Permanent and Grazing-Reserved Easements
Choose a 30-year easement instead of a permanent one and the GARC is reduced by 25 percent. The same 25 percent cut applies to easements where grazing rights are reserved, and the two reductions stack.5Natural Resources Conservation Service. FY 2026 Geographic Area Rate Caps (GARC) Market Survey A 30-year easement with reserved grazing sees a larger discount from the base GARC than either factor alone.
Restoration Cost-Share on Top of the Land Payment
The land payment is only part of what NRCS pays. The agency separately covers a share of the physical work needed to bring the wetland back: 75 to 100 percent on permanent easements, 50 to 75 percent on 30-year and term easements.1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 16 USC 3865c – Wetland Reserve Easements Work might include plugging drainage ditches, removing levees, installing water control structures, planting native vegetation, or treating invasive species.
The dollar figure swings hard by site. Simple hydrology fixes on flat farmland can run a few hundred dollars per acre. Complex projects involving sediment removal, tidal marsh work, or stream channel restoration can cost tens of thousands per acre. NRCS uses standardized cost lists that vary by state to decide what it will pay for each practice. The agency also covers all costs associated with recording the easement, so title work and recording fees on its end are not yours to pay.
When the Money Arrives
Do not plan on a quick check. NRCS targets closing easements within 12 to 18 months of the official agreement date, and delays are common.6Natural Resources Conservation Service. Landowner Guide to Wetland Reserve Easements
Payment structure depends on total easement value. For easements or 30-year contracts valued at $500,000 or less, NRCS provides compensation in up to 10 annual installments, as the landowner requests. For those valued above $500,000, NRCS pays in at least 5 and no more than 10 annual installments, though the NRCS Chief can authorize a single lump sum when it serves the program’s purposes.7eCFR. 7 CFR 1468.34 – Compensation for Easements and 30-Year Contracts Restoration cost payments are separate and are typically disbursed as the work is completed.
Who and What Qualifies
The per-acre figures only matter if the land and the owner are eligible. Only private land and land owned by Indian tribes qualifies. The acreage must be restorable to wetland functions, which generally means farmed wetlands, prior converted cropland, former or degraded wetlands currently used for crop or livestock production, flooded cropland near closed-basin lakes or potholes, or riparian areas linking wetland tracts.8eCFR. 7 CFR Part 1468 – Agricultural Conservation Easement Program – Section: 1468.30 Land in the Conservation Reserve Program with high wetland values also qualifies.
You must hold clear title and have owned the property for at least 24 months. NRCS waives that period for inherited land, land acquired through an existing trust, land obtained through foreclosure redemption, transfers between immediate family members who owned the land for two or more years, completion of a contract-for-deed entered at least 24 months before the application, or situations where you leased the land for farming for at least 24 months before applying.8eCFR. 7 CFR Part 1468 – Agricultural Conservation Easement Program – Section: 1468.30
An adjusted gross income ceiling of $900,000 applies. NRCS averages your AGI over the three taxable years preceding the most recent tax year, and if the average exceeds $900,000 you are ineligible for payments.9Farm Service Agency. Adjusted Gross Income You also must certify on Form AD-1026 that you have not converted wetlands or produced crops on converted wetlands after December 23, 1985; conversions after November 28, 1990, keep you ineligible until you restore the acreage or complete an approved mitigation plan.10eCFR. 7 CFR Part 12 – Highly Erodible Land Conservation and Wetland Conservation
Funding is competitive. Ranking weighs cost-effectiveness, land productivity, wildlife habitat, water quality benefits, and proximity to other protected areas, with hydrology restoration potential accounting for at least 50 percent of the environmental score.11Natural Resources Conservation Service. ACEP-WRE Program Ranking Criteria for NRCS Publication FY26 A high-ranked application gets a formal offer you can accept or walk away from.
What Taxes Will Take
Easement payments are generally treated as income, and USDA reports them to the IRS. Some or all of the restoration cost-share portion may be excludable under IRC Section 126, which shelters certain government conservation payments. Qualifying for the exclusion requires the Secretary of Agriculture to determine the payment was made primarily for conservation purposes, and the Secretary of the Treasury to determine it does not substantially increase your annual income from the property.12Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 126 – Certain Cost-Sharing Payments
The land-value portion works differently. The payment first reduces your tax basis in the property. If the payment is less than your adjusted basis, you may owe no tax on the sale itself, but your basis drops by the payment amount. If the payment exceeds your basis, the excess is treated as a long-term capital gain, assuming you have held the property more than a year. On a parcel with a $250,000 basis and a $600,000 easement payment, the $350,000 difference is taxable as a capital gain. A tax professional familiar with agricultural conservation transactions is worth the fee.
What You Keep, and What Breaks the Deal
Enrolling does not surrender access. You keep ownership, control who enters the land, and are not required to allow public access.13Natural Resources Conservation Service. A Landowner’s Guide to Wetland Reserve Easements (WRE) Delaware 2020 You can lease the land for hunting, fishing, and recreation. NRCS may authorize managed timber harvest, periodic haying or grazing, and water management activities if they are consistent with the wetland’s long-term health; grazing requires an NRCS-developed management plan.14eCFR. 7 CFR Part 1468 – Agricultural Conservation Easement Program – Section: 1468.37 What you cannot do is farm the land, drain it, fill it, or develop it in ways that undermine the restored wetland.
Violations get expensive. On identification, NRCS gives written notice and at least 30 days to fix the problem at your own expense, and you are liable for any federal costs the violation caused. NRCS can withhold future payments and require refunds of what you have received. For 30-year contracts and restoration agreements, an uncorrected violation can trigger termination, forfeiture of future payments, and refunds with interest; termination is immediate for false information or false claims.15eCFR. 7 CFR 1468.39 – Violations and Remedies Permanent easements cannot be terminated, but they stay in force and NRCS can pursue legal remedies to compel compliance.