Source: NATIONAL SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE COALITION, 9/27/17

America’s wetlands, grasslands, and farmland are under increasing threat of conversion to other land uses – wetlands and grasslands are routinely targeted for conversion to crop production, while existing farmland is often threatened by conversion to commercial or residential uses. The US Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Agriculture Conservation Easement Program (ACEP) helps landowners, land trusts, and other entities protect these lands with long-term and permanent easements. Beginning with the 2018 fiscal year, funding for ACEP drops precipitously from $500 million per year to $250 million per year. At current funding levels, NRCS can fund less than half of the easement applications that it receives. At $250 million, we expect that NRCS will have to turn away between 75 and 90 percent of applicants...

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