Browse Ambrook’s collection of funding programs by Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR)

Contact your local FSA office first for the Federal CREP contract; then contact your local SWCD to start enrollment in the State (Illinois CREP) easement. INHS Conservation Resource Specialists also assist.

Deadline text on the page: No sign-up window published; enrollment follows execution of a Federal CREP contract with FSA.

General office

CREP Hotline

Justin Ramey

Program Manager

Kristen Ragusa

Private Lands Ecologist

After a landowner signs a 15-year federal CREP contract with FSA, IDNR buys a state easement that extends protection for 15 more years or permanently, paying a lump sum based on easement length and soil rental rate. IDNR also covers the remaining 50% of practice establishment costs. It is limited to flood-prone, environmentally sensitive cropland in the Illinois and Kaskaskia River watersheds.



- Land in the Illinois or Kaskaskia River watersheds
- Land must first be enrolled in a Federal CREP contract with FSA (e.g., in the 100-year floodplain or a previous wetland, with cropping history 4 of the last 6 years)
- Additional contiguous acres may be enrolled in the easement (no cost-share on additional acres)

Payment per unit of land to do or avoid certain practices related to land management.

Easement

Easement of 15 years or perpetual beyond the federal contract; lump-sum payment; IDNR reimburses the second 50% of cost-share; changes to easement acreage need SWCD and IDNR pre-approval.

Published amounts: Upon execution of the Easement, the landowner will receive a lump sum payment for the Easement. The payment will be based on the Easement length chosen by the landowner and the site-specific soil rental rate. IDNR will reimburse the remaining 50% of the cost-share to establish the conservation practice on the Federal CREP acreage. (What is CREP? fact sheet, rev. May 2022)

Contact the IDNR District Forester serving your county; get a plan written (district or consulting forester); once approved, the District Forestry Office processes certification — you need do nothing else to get the forestry tax assessment.

Deadline text on the page: Preferential assessment level associated with the FDA program goes into effect beginning January 01 of the calendar year, after the calendar year of District Forester approval.

IDNR

Forest land enrolled under an IDNR-approved forest management plan is assessed at one-sixth of its farmland value, which can sharply cut property taxes. The landowner gets a plan from a district or consulting forester, and IDNR certifies it to the county assessor through the Department of Revenue.



- All counties except Cook County
- At least 10 contiguous acres managed for timber and conservation
- No acres with permanent buildings
- Forest condition maintained at least 10 years; grazing not allowed
- Plan to IL Forest Management Plan standards, re-written every 10 years

A reduction or waiving of fees for meeting a certain criteria.

Discount

Plan recommendations must be followed or land can be removed from the program; plans transferable to new owners.

Published amounts: by law, a landowner enrolled in FDA is guaranteed an equalized assessed valuation of 1/6 that of agricultural use of that particular acreage.

List of Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR) Funding Opportunities