NRCS Wetland Easement Monitoring and Wetland Quality Evaluation Final Report Period: 1 January 2015 – 31 December 2015

During 2015, the Illinois Natural History Survey (INHS) conducted wetland easement monitoring and wetland quality evaluations for the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS). In total, 106 wetland easements were monitored within a 28 county area across central Illinois, including 4 Emergency Watershed Protection Program-Floodplain Easements (EWPP-FPE), 14 Emergency Wetland Reserve Program (EWRP) easements, and 88 Wetland Reserve Program (WRP) easements. We acknowledge that wetland easements have recently been re-classified as wetland reserve easements (WRE) within the Agriculture Conservation and Easement Program, but herein we have retained the former nomenclature to maintain consistency with existing management plans and agency documents. Our goal was to visit at least 100 wetland easements in Illinois during 2015, meet with or contact landowners to verify ownership information, identify potential land uses or practices incompatible with program objectives and active authorized practices, and assess general habitat quality for wetland birds. Specifically, we completed an annual monitoring worksheet, conducted a rapid wetland assessment to estimate habitat quality for wetland birds, and provided general information regarding condition of easements.United States Department of Agriculture – Natural Resources Conservation Service Contract Number: 65-5A12-15-351unpublishednot peer reviewedOpe