Wildlife Habitat Incentive Program (WHIP)

Programs

Wildlife Habitat Incentive Program (WHIP)

Updated 04/20/2011

Introduction

The Wildlife Habitat Incentive Program (WHIP) is a voluntary program for conservation-minded landowners who want to develop and improve wildlife habitat on agricultural land, nonindustrial private forest land, and Tribal land.

Program Description

The Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008 reauthorized WHIP as a voluntary approach to improving wildlife habitat in our Nation. The Natural Resources Conservation Service administers WHIP to provide both technical assistance and financial assistance to establish and improve fish and wildlife habitat. WHIP cost-share agreements between NRCS and the participant generally last from one year after the last conservation practice is implemented but not more than 10 years from the date the agreement is signed.

WHIP Priorities for Fiscal Year 2011

In order to provide direction to the State and local levels for implementing WHIP to achieve its objective, NRCS has established the following national priorities:

Promote the restoration of declining or important native fish and wildlife habitats.
Protect, restore, develop or enhance fish and wildlife habitat to benefit at-risk species
Reduce the impacts of invasive species on fish and wildlife habitats; and
Protect, restore, develop or enhance declining or important aquatic wildlife species’ habitats
Protect, restore, develop or enhance important migration and other movement corridors for wildlife.

WHIP Documents and Sign-up Information

The following two documents require Adobe Acrobat Reader

2011 Farm Bill WHIP Fact Sheet (PDF, 73KB)

WHIP Final Rule (PDF 181KB)

NRCS-CPA-1200 WHIP Signup Form (PDF, 33KB)

USDA Service Center EForms Website hosts forms which can be submitted electronically.

Links to State Programs pages which contain links to each State's WHIP page.

WHIP Contract and Funding Information by Fiscal Year

Programs