Wisconsin Wetland Conservation Trust- Restore Grants

The Wisconsin Wetland Conservation Trust (WWCT) provides grants to restore and enhance wetlands across the state. Managed by the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, the program allows for mitigation of unavoidable wetland impacts through the purchase of credits. Eligible applicants include public agencies, private landowners, and nonprofit organizations, with a focus on maintaining ecological integrity within local watersheds. Projects must ensure long-term protection of mitigation sites through legal instruments.

NOTE: All prospective applicants are encouraged to discuss their project with WWCT staff before submitting an application. To be selected, project proposal sites must fall within a service area with currently available funding.
About the DNR
In partnership with individuals and organizations, DNR staff manage fish, wildlife, forests, parks, air and water resources while promoting a healthy, sustainable environment and a full range of outdoor opportunities.
The Wisconsin Wetland Conservation Trust (WWCT) is a statewide wetland mitigation in-lieu fee (ILF) program sponsored and administered by the Wisconsin DNR. Operational since November 2014, the WWCT allows permittees or exempt project proponents with unavoidable wetland impacts to mitigate through the purchase of credits. The program is available in all watersheds in Wisconsin.

Eligibility

Credit fees are used to restore, establish, enhance, or preserve wetlands within the same watershed as the impact. The WWCT operates in 12 Service Areas, or major watersheds, across Wisconsin. Fees from several scattered wetland impacts are used for wetland restoration projects to provide for lost ecological values and functions.Open to all public agencies, municipalities, private landowners, environmental consultants, nonprofit conservation organizations, Wisconsin tribes, or any entity registered with the Wisconsin Department of Financial Institutions. Projects may be completed on any lands in the state of Wisconsin with the requirement that all project sites must be protected by a conservation easement or comparable legal instrument and remain as a mitigation site in perpetuity.If the applicant plans to be the primary party implementing the project, they must provide qualifications and a list of wetland mitigation projects completed within the last 10 years. If an applicant plans to hire professional contractors or consultants to implement the project, then they must provide the contractor or consultant’s qualifications and a list of wetland restoration projects completed within the last 10 years.