The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) will extend the deadline for public comments on the Agricultural Conservation Easement Program’s (ACEP) interim rule until May 28, 2015, reports Ag Professional.
ACEP is USDA’s premier conservation easement program. The 2014 Farm Bill consolidated three previous conservation easement programs into ACEP to make it easier for diverse agricultural landowners to fully benefit from conservation initiatives.
ACEP is a voluntary program designed to protect and restore critical wetlands on private and tribal lands. ACEP also encourages farmers, ranchers and non-industrial private forest landowners to keep their private and tribal land in agricultural use through the agricultural land easement component. ACEP conserves grasslands, including rangeland and pastureland.
The proposed ACEP interim rule can be found in the Federal Register.