Landowner Incentive Program
Program History and Authorization

The Wisconsin Landowner Incentive Program (LIP) is administered through the DNR's Bureau of Endangered Resources. The program began in 2003 with funding from the US Fish and Wildlife Service and the first cost-share grants were awarded to landowners in 2006.

Development of program priorities, goals, and decisions regarding landowner funding occurs through consensus of the program Guidance Team, a multi-disciplinary partner group made up of individuals from:

• Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources
• Wisconsin Woodland Owners Association
• Private Consultants
• Gathering Waters Conservancy
• Natural Resources Conservation Service
• The Nature Conservancy
• U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
• University of Wisconsin
• Door County Land Trust

In Wisconsin, LIP was designed to help implement Wildlife Action Plan. By focusing specifically on managing habitat on private land for at-risk species (including Species of Greatest Conservation Need), the Landowner Incentive Program complements the broader-focus of the State Wildlife Grant program by implementing the private land Conservation Actions.

Authorization

The Landowner Incentive Program (LIP) program was created by Congress in The Department of the Interior and Related Agencies Appropriations Act of 2002, in order to distribute $40,000,000 through matching, competitively awarded grants to States, the District of Columbia, Tribes, Puerto Rico, Guam, the United States Virgin Islands, the Northern Mariana Islands, and American Samoa. This funding was used to establish, or supplement existing landowner incentive programs that provide technical and financial assistance, including habitat protection and restoration, to private landowners for the protection and management of habitat to benefit federally listed, proposed, or candidate species, or other at-risk species on private lands.

Wisconsin's legal authority was established in February 2006 through legislative approval of ch. NR 58, Wis Admin. Code [exit DNR]. The purpose of the LIP rule (subchapter III) is to establish rules for the implementation and administration of a grant program to fund management, restoration and protection activities pertaining to Wisconsin's natural communities and rare flora and fauna on private land.

Issues and Challenges

Loss of Federal Support

Despite the success of LIP in Wisconsin and across the country, the President's Administration chose to eliminate LIP from their FY 2008 budget request, and this budget was approved by congress in December of 2007. As a result, state LIP programs are no longer supported by a dedicated federal funding source.

Despite this significant set-back, Wisconsin's LIP continues to explore other sources of financial support for the Program. Recent successes include several generous gifts through the Natural Resources Foundation of Wisconsin, support from Turkey Stamp funds for habitat work that jointly benefits wild turkey populations and at-risk species, a State Wildlife Grant grant award, and most recently a Federal Competitive Portion State Wildlife grant awarded jointly to Wisconsin and Iowa DNRs for work in the Driftless Region.

Through these sources, LIP has continued to support landowners since 2008 as program continues to seek a more permanent source of funding. At present, no state or federal funding is dedicated to Wisconsin's LIP. The program is still listed in the annual Department of Interior budget, although the annual allotment has remained set at $0 since 2008.