Easement Restoration and Stewardship

The opportunities associated with this NOFO are for lands protected through the Wetland Reserve Easements (WRE) component of the Agricultural Conservation Easement Program (ACEP) and the Floodplain Easement (FPE) component of the Emergency Watershed Protection Program (EWPP). The types of work available through this opportunity fall into three primary categories: 1) restoration of wetland and floodplain easements; 2) stewardship of wetland and floodplain easements, and 3) onsite and offsite assessment of easement conditions.

Component 1) Wetland and Floodplain Easement Restoration. Awardees will work with NRCS personnel, partners and landowners to develop and implement sound easement restoration plans. These plans may include structural practices, such as levees and water control structures, and/or vegetative establishment practices, such as tree planting. Awardees are expected to complete the following easement restoration activities: (A) Coordination- Accept input on restoration planning from NRCS employees, NRCS partners and easement owners. (B) Investigation- Completion of technical surveys such as topographic, hydrological or habitat inventories. (C) Restoration Design- Combine data collected through coordination and technical surveys to develop functional, yet cost-effective restoration plans. (D) Implementation- Application of the easement restoration design using NRCS provided practice standards and specifications. NRCS wetland and floodplain easements have varying levels of restoration planning completed by NRCS employees or partners. Awardees will receive all relevant planning information for easements included in this agreement. Awardee must be prepared to complete some or all the listed restoration activities. Component 2) Wetland and Floodplain Easement Stewardship. Awardees are responsible for completing easement stewardship activities on restored wetland and floodplain easements. Easement stewardship includes repair, maintenance, manageme