Our Services

Easements, Special Use Permits, and Cooperative Agriculture

If you are interested in an easement or special use permit, please contact us. Of course, not all projects qualify for assistance, but contacting us is the first step.

To better accomplish our grassland management objectives, we sometimes utilize agricultural practices to manage and enhance habitat for wildlife. If you are interested in grazing livestock or harvesting hay on Wetland Management District lands, please check here for available opportunities.

A beautiful green grassland with white flowers in bloom under a partly cloudy sky
Grassland Easements

In the United States, the Prairie Pothole Region is located within the northern Great Plains in parts of Iowa, Minnesota, Montana, North Dakota, and South Dakota. Characterized by thousands of shallow, glacially formed wetlands known as potholes, the Prairie Pothole Region provides habitat for...

Service
Consultation and Technical Assistance
Financial Assistance
Dozens of waterfowl flying over a grassy wetland
Wetland Easements

In the United States, the Prairie Pothole Region is located within the northern Great Plains in parts of Iowa, Minnesota, Montana, North Dakota, and South Dakota. Characterized by thousands of shallow wetlands known as potholes, the Prairie Pothole Region provides habitat for globally...

Service
Consultation and Technical Assistance
Financial Assistance
Land Management and Conservation Assistance
Silhouette of a person walking with a shotgun on the tundra
Apply for a Special Use Permit on National Wildlife Refuges

Some commercial, recreational and research activities are allowed on national wildlife refuges only with a special use permit issued by the local office, and are subject to specific conditions and fees. This permit requirement is meant to ensure that all activities at the federal site are...

Service
Communication
Permits
Business Owner/Commercial Business
Educator/Education Facility
Landowner - Commercial
Landowner - Individual
Oil/Gas Company
Private Land Owners/Managers
Researcher or Research Facility - Commercial Scientific
Larged-winged birds called sandhill cranes arrive in fields to feed at Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge.
Cooperative Agriculture

Cooperative agriculture — partnering with farmers and ranchers to meet wildlife management objectives — is a long-standing practice on national wildlife refuges (50 CFR 29.2). Cooperative agreements between the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and farmers or ranchers may permit grazing by cattle...

Service
Agriculture
Species Management
Farmer/Rancher
Landowner - Commercial
Landowner - Individual