Most rare species in New Jersey can be found on - and ultimately depend upon - privately-owned lands. Throughout our state many of these sensitive animals and habitat types are in serious decline. In recent decades, development and agriculture pressures have increased throughout the state, resulting in loss of the delicate open space and green land that makes New Jersey so beautiful.
The Landowner Incentive Program (LIP) was created by Congress in 2002 as a federally funded grant program, administered in New Jersey by the Nongame and Endangered Species Program (ENSP). The program was an annually appropriated program, meaning funding had to be approved each year. Unfortunately, Fiscal Year 2007 was the last year the program received an appropriation.
States that had obligated funds from LIP continued to be able to spend those funds until they ran out; New Jersey's final competitive request for proposals was in 2010 and the state contracted with those successful applicants in 2011. The state worked with other federal and non-governmental programs to leverage the funds we provided to landowners to manage their land for at risk species. Those federal sources (USFWS Partners for Fish & Wildlife Program and USDA's NRCS Farm Bill programs) are still working with private landowners, but NJ is finalizing the remaining open contracts with landowners; all contracts are expected to be completed by 2015.
ENSP staff will be completing an evaluation component (i.e., how well did the program work to actually benefit the target species). Once the evaluation is complete and landowner contracts are finished, the LIP will be completed in New Jersey. As of 2014 there are no prospects of LIP being reauthorized and refunded by congress.
For information on other programs assisting landowners provide wildlife habitat visit the Habitat Management page.
Some
files on this site require adobe acrobat pdf reader to view.
