Delaware Buffer Incentive Program (Chesapeake Bay Watershed)

The Delaware Buffer Incentive Program provides financial incentives for landowners in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed to install vegetated buffers along waterways. These linear strips of wooded or vegetated area filter nutrients, sediment, and pollutants while reducing erosion and providing wildlife habitat, supporting Delaware's Watershed Implementation Plan goals.

Properties must be within Delaware's Chesapeake Bay Watershed and connect to or border streams or ditches. Urban landowners: minimum quarter-acre buffer, 5-year commitment. Agricultural/rural landowners: minimum half-acre buffer, 5-year commitment; leaseholders must certify active leases and maintain good standing with the Nutrient Management Program or Agricultural Land Preservation Foundation Program. Tax ditch buffers require written approval before installation.

One-time per-acre incentive payments: Forest Buffer (>35 feet) $1,000; Narrow Forest Buffer (10–35 feet) $500; Grass Buffer (>35 feet) $1,000; Narrow Grass Buffer (10–35 feet) $500; Urban Conservation Buffer (>10 feet) $500. The program covers installation and maintenance throughout the 5-year contract period.

Interested applicants should contact DNREC via the program's online form with name, contact information, and property location.