Some $350 million is available this fiscal year “to help landowners protect and restore key farmlands, grasslands and wetlands across the nation,” said USDA. The money will flow through the Agricultural Conservation Easement Program for voluntary purchase of easements to keep land in farming and ranching and to protect wildlife habitat and water resources. For example, the program offers the option of 30-year or permanent easements to preserve or enhance wetlands. USDA said money from the program was used for an easement on 1,805 acres in Colorado to protect habitat for the Sage Grouse.