Popular Wetlands Reserve Program Growing on Missouri Landowners

COLUMBIA, Mo., February 6, 2003 – In 1992 the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) unveiled the Wetlands Reserve Program (WRP). No one could have guessed then how popular it would become with Missouri landowners.

The first year, NRCS established 19 landowner contracts to restore 1,696 acres as wetlands. Since then, NRCS has established 664 WRP contracts with landowners in 66 Missouri counties, resulting in new wetlands on 93,150 total acres.

Landowners voluntarily enroll tracts of land into WRP to restore, protect and enhance wetland conditions on eligible land.

"The process of getting involved in WRP is as easy as walking into a local NRCS field office and signing an application," says Harold Deckerd, NRCS assistant state conservationist.

Deckerd says a member of one of the agency’s Wetlands Emphasis Teams (WETs) will then assess the site and rank the application for WRP eligibility. In Missouri, an NRCS soil scientist and a Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) wetlands biologist assess the land for program eligibility based on biological and cost criteria.

Then conservation easements or cost-share agreements are offered to landowners. Their options include perpetual and 30-year easements or a 10-year restoration cost-share agreement. In exchange for the easements that ensure the sites will remain wetlands, landowners receive $700 to $1,800 per acre, depending on the assessed value of the land.

There once were more than 4.8 million acres of wetlands in Missouri. Due to settlement, development, and other man-made changes, more than 90 percent were drained. Today Missouri has about 670,000 acres of wetlands.

Chris Hamilton, WRP program coordinator for Missouri, says wetlands are an essential part of the ecosystem. He says they serve a variety of functions, including providing habitat for fish and wildlife.

"Wetlands are also good for recreation, protecting water quality and expanding floodways," Hamilton says.

Hamilton says when landowners incorporate their land into WRP, it can serve a variety of functions. Landowners in the program maintain private ownership of the land, and can work with NRCS to determine acceptable uses of the wetland. Landowners can sell or convey the land, control access and maintain mineral rights. Many landowners choose to lease hunting rights on the land or use it for their private recreational purposes.

Hamilton says landowners participating in WRP have physical and economic reasons for restoring wetlands on portions of their land. He says some volunteer land because it’s too difficult to maintain or because it’s not profitable cropland.

No matter what the reason, landowners are more aware today about the benefits of participating in the Wetlands Reserve Program than they were 10 years ago.

Mick Hawkins, NRCS conservation technician in Chariton County has seen the program flourish first hand.

"I’ve had many landowners visit me who are interested in WRP because their neighbors or friends had good experiences with the program," Hawkins says. "Word of mouth is the strongest recruitment device we have."

As the program continues to gain momentum, more landowners will enjoy the benefits of restoring wetlands on their property, Hamilton 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/.