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Direct Financial Incentives
Direct financial incentives provide monies to protect, restore, and enhance fish and wildlife habitat, to improve water quality, or to improve land management. They may be grants, subsidized loans, cost-shares, or leases.
In Washington State, the following programs supply the highest dollar amounts of direct financial incentives.
Farm Bill Programs
This suite of programs offered by the federal government was authorized in the 2002 Farm Bill. The programs provide direct payments to farm and forest owners for conservation practices.
Administered by the Natural Resources and Conservation Service and the Farm Services Agency, these programs are collectively funded at more than $100 million per year in Washington. They support hundreds of projects annually.
Many Farm Bill programs focus on taking land out of production (via long-term leases) and providing cost-share funding to restoration projects.
Salmon Recovery Funding Board
The Salmon Recovery Funding Board (SRFB) provided $26.6 million in its most recent funding cycle. Local and regional citizen groups develop plans to protect and restore salmon habitat. SRFB reviews the projects and provides funding that comes from state general obligation bonds and the federal Pacific Coast Salmon Recovery Fund.
Washington Wildlife and Recreation Program
The Washington Wildlife and Recreation Program provides grants for the acquisition and development of local and state parks, water access sites, trails, critical wildlife habitat, natural areas, and urban wildlife habitat. It also provides funding for the protection of farmland and riparian areas and the improvement of state lands.
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service administers several programs aimed at implementing habitat conservation plans for endangered species.
The available grants for Washington are described on the Washington Office's web site.