Any private landowner is eligible to participate in some kind of private lands program. Please contact the Fish and Game Habitat Biologist in one of our regions for more information.

There are several programs available in Idaho that provide financial and technical assistance to landowners to maintain, develop, or improve fish and wildlife habitat on their lands. State programs include the Habitat Improvement Program (HIP) and Access Yes!. Federal and nongovernmental programs and grants are also available.

Any private landowner is eligible to participate in some kind of private lands program. Idaho Fish and Game habitat biologists can provide guidance to landowners about the benefits and types of improvements that can be done on their property. Benefits range from improved hunting opportunities for your family to increased land value.

Habitat biologists provide technical assistance at no cost to the landowner. Technical assistance includes:

• Informing landowners of the types of assistance programs available:
• Help determine which program or combination of programs will best fit the landowner's needs
• Help landowner with application procedures, including enrolling in Farm Bill programs.
• Working with landowners to develop a management plan or project design to benefit fish and wildlife habitat on their lands.
• Determine what species, including at-risk species, are on their land and which would benefit from habitat improvements or protection.

• Habitat Improvement Program (HIP) - An Idaho Fish and Game program that is funded by license dollars. The program objective is to provide technical and financial assistance to private landowners and public land managers who want to enhance habitat for upland game birds and waterfowl.
• Mule Deer Initiative - An Idaho Fish and Game funded program. The program objective is to provide technical and financial assistance to private landowners and public land managers who want to enhance habitat for Mule Deer in SE Idaho.
• Access Yes! - A program designed to improve sportsmen's access to private land or through private land to public land by compensating willing landowners who provide access.
• Wetlands Reserve Program (WRP) - Seeks to protect, restore, and enhance wetlands on private land. It is one of the many 2002 Farm Bill Conservation Programs, administered by the Natural Resources Conservation Service, that help farmers and ranchers meet environmental challenges on their land.
• Wildlife Habitat Incentives Program (WHIP) - Another Farm Bill program, provides technical and financial assistance to those that wish to develop and improve wildlife habitat on their land.
• Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) - Emphasizes that agricultural production and environmental quality are compatible. The program provides incentives to landowners that implement conservation practices on their land, including wildlife habitat management. It is a Farm Bill program administered by the Natural Resources Conservation Service.
• Grassland Reserve Program (GRP) - Protects, enhances, and restores grassland, rangeland, pastureland, and shrubland on private lands. The program supports livestock grazing while protecting important grasslands from conversion to croplands or other uses. It is a Farm Bill program administered by the Natural Resources Conservation Service.
• Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) - Administered by the USDA Farm Service Agency. CRP provides annual rental payments to landowners that practice soil conservation, primarily through conversion of highly erodible lands to resource-conserving vegetative covers, such as native vegetation.
• Idaho Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program (CREP) - Goal is to significantly reduce the irrigation water consumptive use from the Eastern Snake River Plain Aquifer. This is a USDA Farm Service Agency program.
• Private Landowner Network - Conservation opportunities that can assist with land management, capital preservation, and tax & estate planning strategies.