Browse Ambrook’s collection of funding programs by Iowa Department of Natural Resources (Iowa DNR)

Talk with Forest Legacy Coordinator Aron Flickinger first, then complete the Landowner Application Package. Applications are due May 15 each year.

Deadline text on the page: The deadline for applications is May 15 each year.

Aron Flickinger

Forestry Program Specialist (Forest Legacy Coordinator)

Iowa DNR runs the federal Forest Legacy Program in Iowa. It pays owners of high-quality forest threatened with conversion a one-time sum, 75% of the appraised easement value, for a perpetual conservation easement. Owners can keep managing timber and using the land for hunting and recreation. Iowa has 2,678 acres of Forest Legacy easements on 11 properties.



- Willing owners of important private forest threatened with conversion to agriculture, mining, or residential or commercial development.
- Land within Iowa's Forest Legacy Areas: Cedar-Iowa River Valleys, Des Moines River, Driftless Region, Loess Hills, Mississippi Bluffs, Protected Waters, and Southern Iowa Drift Plain (maps on the page).
- A Forest Stewardship plan is required; DNR foresters write one for free and update it at least every 10 years.

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

Easement

Perpetual conservation easement. The one-time payment is 75% of the appraised easement value. Traditional forest uses such as timber management, hunting, fishing and hiking continue. National competition means acceptance is not guaranteed.

Published amounts: In exchange for limiting development of the property and placing a conservation easement that protects the forest resources into perpetuity, landowners receive a one-time financial payment (75% of the appraised value of their conservation easement).

A DNR staff member visits the property, and the DNR and landowner develop a wildlife habitat plan. DNR staff then submit the application, which is ranked against all others received in the same 30-day period. Landowners hear back within 30 days, and accepted landowners sign an IHAP contract. Contact the private lands biologist for your area to start.

Deadline text on the page: Applications are ranked and reviewed with all other applications submitted within the same 30-day period.

Todd Bogenschutz

Farm Bill Coordinator (Private Lands Program)

Iowa DNR Customer Service

Iowa DNR pays landowners incentive payments for wildlife habitat improvements planned with a DNR private lands biologist. In return, the landowner opens the enrolled land to public walk-in hunting from Sept. 1 through May 31. Contracts run 3 to 10 years, and the program has grown to over 32,000 acres.



- Landowner, or someone with legal authority to sign a land contract for the landowner.
- At least 40 acres with adequate wildlife habitat, or the potential for it.
- Willing to open the enrolled land to public walk-in hunting from Sept. 1 through May 31. Only hunting is allowed; no trapping or fishing.
- The landowner chooses which part of the land to enroll.

A payment that requires some percentage of matching contributions by the recipient.

Cost Share

Contracts last 3 to 10 years. The landowner can do the habitat work or hire a contractor, and the DNR pays when the work is complete. Enrolled land is open to walk-in public hunting Sept. 1 - May 31 and patrolled by conservation officers. State law limits landowner liability. A landowner can end the contract early with 60 days' written notice but must repay a prorated share of the habitat work's value.

Published amounts: Flat not-to-exceed incentive rates per practice (Incentive Rates PDF). Examples: Seed - Natives (Diverse/Nesting Cover) $200.00/acre; Prescribed Burning (Grassland) $60.00/acre; Tree/Shrub Estab (Hardwoods, Bareroot) $700.00/acre; Timber Stand Improvement - Med $150.00/acre; Wetland Shallow Excavation, 14-36" $6,815.00/acre. 'If other conservation payments are involved, the IHAP incentive rates will cover the difference between the flat rate for the practice and the amount received for that practice from another program up to the Not To Exceed rates listed above.'

Print the certification form or get it from an Iowa DNR Wildlife Management Biologist. A DNR biologist inspects the area and signs the form, and the landowner takes the signed form to the county assessor by February 1.

Deadline text on the page: The signed certification form must then be taken to your local county assessor by February 1.

Iowa landowners can get a property tax exemption for native prairie, wetlands, or small wildlife habitat areas that a DNR biologist inspects and certifies. The signed certificate goes to the county assessor by Feb. 1. Exempt land cannot be used for any economic gain, including crop storage or lease and rental income.



- Native Prairie: land never cultivated, natural or restored grassland with at least 50% of the plant canopy made up of original Iowa prairie grasses and forbs. No acreage limit.
- Wildlife Habitat: agricultural land of two acres or less, in native species with adequate ground cover, used only as wildlife habitat.
- Wetland: two or more acres, mostly underwater or waterlogged in spring, with hydric-soil vegetation. This covers protected wetlands (type 3, 4 or 5) and restored wetlands under a nonpermanent agreement with DNR, USFWS, a county or a private conservation group.
- No economic gain of any kind and no buildings on the tax parcel.

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

Discount

The exempt area may not be used for economic gain, including storing equipment, machinery or crops, or receiving lease or rental payments. No buildings, used or unused, may be on the tax parcel. An aerial photo of the area goes with the application.

Published amounts: Property tax exemption on the certified acres; no dollar amounts are published.

Apply with the county assessor's office between January 1 and February 1 of the year the exemption is claimed. Once approved, the exemption continues each year without re-filing as long as the land qualifies. DNR district foresters (listed on the page) can help evaluate and manage the woodland.

Deadline text on the page: Private forest landowners interested in enrolling their forest or fruit trees into reservations must make application with the county assessor’s office from January 1 - February 1 of the year for which they are claiming exemption. (Forest Reserve Fact Sheet)

Iowa's Forest Reserve (forest and fruit tree reservation) property-tax exemption for privately owned woodland and orchards that meet state tree-density and use rules. The DNR publishes the criteria and its district foresters help landowners. The exemption is claimed each January with the county assessor; once approved it continues without re-filing while the land keeps qualifying.



- At least 2 contiguous acres; land occupied by buildings is excluded.
- At least 200 growing trees per acre to qualify as a forest reservation; if trees are removed, the owner has up to one year to replace them.
- Must be protected from fire and grazing, with no livestock allowed.
- No economic gain other than from the trees themselves (fruit, nuts, Christmas trees, posts, logs, fuelwood, sap). The fact sheet says the land cannot be used for leased hunting.
- Forest acres enrolled in CRP or CSP are not eligible (fact sheet).
- Ownership must stay the same for 10 years, or recapture taxes apply.

Continuing exemption with no annual re-filing. The county conservation board or assessor may inspect. Land that is not maintained or is used for economic gain is assessed at fair market value, and taxes for up to 5 years are recaptured unless the owner has held the land more than 10 years.

Published amounts: Enrolled forest reservations are exempt from property tax (fact sheet: 'Beginning in 1986, the tax exemption for forest reservations was made to $0/acre'). If the land is sold before 10 years, 'taxes that would have been paid during the past 5 years of that period will be recaptured.'

List of Iowa Department of Natural Resources (Iowa DNR) Funding Opportunities