Landowners Find Incentives in the Wetlands Reserve Program

COLUMBIA, MO, January 6, 2003 – Three years ago Richard Mauzey grimaced each time he bounced over a gully while attempting to harvest corn from marginal cropland on his Chariton County farm. Now Mauzey smiles as he literally floats across the same tract of hard-to-farm land sandwiched between railroad tracks and a nearby creek.

Thanks to the Wetlands Reserve Program (WRP), Mauzey is just a short boat ride away from a duck blind on his own private waterfowl refuge. More and more landowners, like Mauzey, are discovering the benefits of retiring marginal sections of their agricultural land to WRP. Through WRP, they improve the makeup of their farms, provide habitat for wildlife, and profit financially.

WRP pays landowners to protect, restore, and enhance wetlands on their property. The USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) aids landowners in their restoration efforts by providing them with technical and financial support.

"WRP places a value on land that farmers think is worthless or that they can’t afford to maintain," says Mick Hawkins, NRCS conservation technician in Chariton County. "It basically gives a value to not-so-valuable ground, and it has changed the way farmers look at wetlands. They know this program is there to help them."

A landowner participating in WRP either enters into a cost-share restoration agreement with USDA or signs an easement in exchange for a cash payment. Many participants earn additional income by leasing hunting rights, Hawkins says.

"What some of these lands were worth 20 years ago, they’re worth 20 times more now with the WRP," says Hawkins.

Mauzey says he just enjoys having his own family wetland. Richard, his father Kenneth, and Richard’s sons enjoy the time they can spend together in the duck blind. Richard says he is most appreciative of his wetland when he invites children to visit his duck blind. "I get more out of seeing the looks on kids faces when they come out here during duck season," he says, "They are really enjoying themselves."

Richard Mauzey says converting 206 acres of marginal cropland to WRP was the best land-use decision he has ever made. "I love the program. WRP has helped me generate money on ground that’s not easily accessible for me to farm," he says.

Hawkins says he is constantly reminded of how important the program is as more farmers turn to WRP when they can’t afford to continue cropping portions of their land.

Economics notwithstanding, Kenneth Mauzey says just the aesthetic value of his family’s wetland justifies its existence. "You can see a flock of ducks on someone else’s property, but when you see them on your own land, it’s something special," he says.

His son Richard also has formed a strong attachment to the wetland. "On days when I am not able to go out to the wetland, I really miss it," he says.

For more information about the Wetlands Reserve Program, contact the local NRCS office in the USDA Service Center serving your county, or visit www.nrcs.usda.gov/programs/wrp/.