WAWG
The U.S. Department of Agricultures’s Natural Resource and Conservations Service (NRCS) in Washington is announcing a second application batching period for the Agricultural Conservation Easements Program-Agricultural Land Easements (ACEP-ALE).
While applications for ACEP-ALE are taken on a continuous basis, the deadline to be considered for Fiscal Year 2024 second funding is March 11, 2024. NRCS Washington has over $1 million remaining from our FY24 ACEP-ALE allocation and intends to retain those funds in Washington state for farmland preservation.
ACEP-ALE provides cost-share financial assistance to eligible partners for purchasing perpetual Agricultural Land Easements that protect the agricultural use and conservation values of eligible land. In the case of working farms, the program helps farmers and ranchers keep their land in agricultural production. The program also protects grazing uses and related conservation values by conserving grassland, including rangeland, pastureland, and shrubland. Eligible partners include American Indian tribes, state and local governments, and nongovernmental organizations that have farmland, rangeland, or grassland protection programs.
For more information about ACEP-ALE, please refer to the NRCS-Washington ACEP-ALE Program Webpage or the NRCS ACEP-ALE national webpage and For questions about the program please email our state easement team at nrcs.wa.easements@usda.gov.