Missouri Wildlife Habitat Incentives Program (WHIP)

The Wildlife Habitat Incentives Program (WHIP) was reauthorized in the Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002 (2002 Farm Bill) to encourage the creation of high quality wildlife habitats that support wildlife populations of National, State, Tribal, and local significance.  Through WHIP, eligible participants may receive financial and technical assistance to develop upland, wetland, riparian, and aquatic habitat areas on their property.  To learn more about WHIP in Missouri, see the Missouri WHIP State Plan.

Interested parties may apply for WHIP at their local NRCS office in their USDA Service Centers. Your local USDA Service Center agencies are also listed in the telephone book under United States Government, Department of Agriculture. 

Current Program Information

While WHIP applications can be submitted year round, at this time, there are both limited funds and timeframe available to approve FY08 WHIP applications.  To apply, applicants must submit a signed CCC-1200 with Appendix (Conservation Program Application/Contract), and a FY08 WHIP Scoring Worksheet at their local NRCS office by 4:00 PM Thursday, March 27, 2008.  Only eligible FY08 WHIP applications submitted by March 27, 2008, will be considered for funding during this period.  FY08 WHIP applications received after March 27, 2008 will be considered for funding only IF additional funds become available or our allocation is not fully obligated.  A certified planner will assist the applicant(s) to develop a wildlife habitat development plan (WHDP) to identify planned conservation practices to be implemented through WHIP.

The following information details the application, conservation practices and policies from the most recent Missouri WHIP sign-up. This information and documents are provided as an example of the type of assistance that is available through WHIP. Future sign-up criteria may vary.

Information about each conservation practice eligible for WHIP financial assistance is available in the following documents:

A certified planner will assist you to develop a wildlife habitat development plan and complete all required information for your WHIP application.  Eligible applications, submitted by 4:00 PM Friday, March 27, 2008, will be ranked, with the highest priority given to those applications with the highest score on the FY08 WHIP scoring worksheet. Applications that provide the most wildlife habitat benefit are the most competitive for WHIP funding. 

Missouri WHIP State Plan

Missouri WHIP Contact Information

National NRCS WHIP Information

Missouri WHIP Archives