2009 Farm and Ranch Lands Protection Program

The Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008 (the 2008 Act) amended the Farmland Protection Program (FPP), established by the Federal Agriculture Improvement and Reform Act of 1996, and reauthorized by the Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002. In the implementing rule making, the program was named the Farm and Ranch Lands Protection Program (FRPP) to best describe the types of lands the program seeks to protect.

The FRPP is voluntary program to help farmers and ranchers preserve their agricultural land. The Program provides matching funds to State, Tribal and local governments, and non-governmental organizations with farmland protection programs to purchase conservation easements.

• Eligibility
• Application Process
• Partners that Help People Help the Land
• Prior-Year FRPP (Archives)
• For More Information

Eligibility

To qualify the farm or ranch must:

• Be privately owned land.
• Contain at least 50 percent of prime, unique, statewide, or locally important soils OR
• Contain historic of archeological sites that are:
  • Consensus determined by the State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO), or the Tribal Historic Preservation Office (THPO), or
  • Formally nominated to the national register AND
• Be part of a pending offer from a state, tribal, or local government, or a non-governmental organization (NGO) agricultural land protection program.
• Have a conservation plan on Highly Erodible Land (HEL) acres.
• Contain sufficient acres to sustain agriculture production.
• Include eligible lands such as cropland, rangeland, grassland, pastureland, and forest land that are part of the agriculture operation.
• Involve land owners who do not exceed the Adjusted Gross Income (AGI) provisions.

Application Process

Montana will take applications until May 8, 2009. The State Conservationist will make a funding decision by May 15th and all cooperative agreements will be signed by July 15, 2009.

Under FRPP, NRCS solicits applications from federally recognized Indian tribes, states, units of local government, and NGOs. Land owners apply through a recognized entity such as one of these.

Application Materials and Information

• Montana FRPP Application Guidelines
• Montana FRPP Application Checklist
• Montana FRPP Ranking

If you encounter any problems with the files provided on this page, please contact Dennis Dellwo at 406-587-6748.

The following documents require Adobe Reader.

Personally Identifiable Information (PII) Certification (PDF; 1.9 MB)

Adjusted Gross Income (AGI) At A Glance (PDF; 43 KB)

Entity Application Procedures

• An entity shall submit an application to the State Conservationist in order to see if the entity is eligible to participate in FRPP. The Chief of NRCS will determine whether an entity is a certified entity based on Part 1491.4(d) of the Interim Final Rule for FRPP.
• The State Conservationist will notify the entity about whether or not the entity has been determined to be eligible or certified. A cooperative agreement will be entered into at this time.
• Entities with cooperative agreement entered into after Jan 16, 2009 will not have to resubmit an annual application for the duration of the cooperative agreement. They may reapply when the cooperative agreement expires.
• Entities may submit throughout the fiscal year, to the State Conservationist, applications for parcels with supporting documentation, to be scored, ranked, and considered for funding.
• When funds are available, the State Conservationist shall announce the date (no less than 60 days prior to the date) on which ranking of parcels shall occur. More than one ranking period may be held.
• At the end of the federal fiscal year (Sep 30) the list of pending, unfunded parcels will be cancelled unless the entity requests they be considered for funding in the next fiscal year. Entities must submit a new list of parcels each fiscal year in order to be considered.

Partners that Help People Help the Land

Following is a partial list of NGOs through which land owners in Montana can apply for conservation easements under FRPP. Land owners can also apply through State, Tribal and local governments.

• The Trust for Public Land
• The Conservation Fund
• Montana Land Reliance
• Gallatin Valley Land Trust
• Prickly Pear Land Trust
• Flathead Land Trust
• Five Valleys Land Trust
• The Nature Conservancy
• Land Trust Alliance

Prior-Year FRPP (Archives)

• 2008 Farm and Ranch Lands Protection Program Information Archival Purposes Only

For More Information

• Farm and Ranch Lands Protection Program National NRCS Website
• National Land Evaluation and Site Assessment System Website

For more information and updates about the FRPP, please refer to the U.S. Department of Agriculture Web site, the national NRCS Web site, or contact one of the Montana NRCS personnel listed below.

Contacts

Dennis Dellwo, Program Specialist
Phone: 406-587-6748
Email: Dennis.Dellwo

Carrie Mosley, Assistant State Conservationist for Programs
Phone: 406-587-6967
Email: Carrie.Mosley

Last Modified: 03/19/2009