NB_300_23_18 - NB 300-23-18 LTP – Guidance on Documentation of Stewardship Land Easements Not Funded Through NRCS Easement Programs (Other Stewardship Land Easements)
NB 300-23-18 LTP – Guidance on Documentation of Stewardship Land Easements Not Funded Through NRCS Easement Programs (Other Stewardship Land Easements)
National
Bulletin:
300-23-18
Date:
March 15, 2023
Subject:
LTP – Guidance on Documentation of Stewardship Land Easements Not Funded Through NRCS Easement Programs (Other Stewardship Land Easements)
Purpose. This national bulletin provides current fiscal year instructions on collecting data related to Other Stewardship Land (OSL) easements (e.g., wetland mitigation, flowage, Public Law (PL)─566, and other watershed easements).
Expiration Date. September 30, 2023
Background. To continue enhancing data completeness and quality and fulfill requirements of a complete and accurate agency financial statement, NRCS must be able to account for all stewardship land easements. To achieve this goal NRCS must assess and collect data associated with easements that the agency (as NRCS, the Soil Conservation Service, or the Commodity Credit Corporation) on behalf of the United States is a holder or has other responsibilities outlined in the easement deed. More than 10 years ago, NRCS began the effort of collecting information about OSL easements at a national level.
Explanation. OSL easements are easements that have been acquired or rights obtained through authorities other than through the administration of NRCS easement programs. The rights obtained through OSL easements commits the agency on behalf of the United States to various established responsibilities outlined in the deed.
To document these OSL easements, States must complete the following actions on a continuous basis and no later than the National Easement Staging Tool (NEST) fiscal year 2023 end-of-year shutdown:
1. For applicable easements that are not currently in NEST, collect all Food Security Act Compliance easements, wetland mitigation easements, flowage easements, PL 566 floodplain easements, and other easements administered by NRCS that are not enrolled through an NRCS easement program and review as follows--
a. Determine whether the agency on behalf of the United States is a holder of the easement or has some other interest or responsibility in the easement deed (e.g., monitoring, enforcement, etc.). Contact the Easement Program Division (EPD) through the Program Activity Management Solution (PAMS) for assistance with reading the easement deed or determining if the easement should be considered an OSL easement. Submit a general request ticket and select “Program Assistance” for type and “Policy” for subtype. Upload a copy of the deed to the PAMS ticket before submitting.
b. For deeds identified as OSL easements, scan each OSL easement deed separately and name the PDF files using the following nomenclature: State Abbreviation-Fiscal Year of Deed Execution-Last Name/Entity Name of Landowner (e.g., ND-97-Smith).
c. Create a new OSL record in NEST for each OSL easement.
• Select “Other Stewardship Lands” from the “Tracking Inbox” menu on the top of the NEST home page.
• Select “New” and fill all required fields.
o Use the same nomenclature to complete the “Other Identifying Name or Number” data element as was used for the PDF.
o Select the “New Landowner” and “New Location” buttons to enter landowner and location information.
o The “Closing date” data element will appear once all other required data elements have been entered and saved.
• Upload the OSL easement deed to the “Documents” page.
2. For OSL records that already exist in NEST, ensure that all required data elements have been completed, including the closing date and documentation of annual monitoring. If the OSL easement has been fully executed and the data entered, the NEST OSL record status should either be “Acquired” or “Completed.” The “Acquired” status indicates a closing date has been entered and “Completed” indicates a closing date and a restoration completion date have been entered. If the OSL easement has been released, enter the “Easement Released Date” to indicate that the easement is no longer active and upload the document that released the easement.
Tracking, documenting, and stewarding the OSLs is an ongoing need for the agency. All new and newly discovered wetland mitigation, flowage, and PL 566 easement deeds should be entered into NEST within two weeks of the last signature on the deed or discovery.
Contact. Questions regarding this national bulletin should be directed to the Easement Policy Branch at EasementSupport@usda.gov.
/s/
NOLLER HERBERT
Deputy Chief for Science and Technology