Shelterbelt Program
A Cost-Share Program of the Iowa Department of Natural Resources Through Wildlife Habitat Stamp and Chickadee Checkoff Funds

A shelterbelt is an area that has been planted to trees and shrubs. Because of prevailing winter winds, the shelterbelt becomes most beneficial to the landowner when located on the north and west sides of rural farmsteads or feedlots. Throughout the year, the shelterbelt benefits people and wildlife in a variety of ways. During the winter, tree and shrub plantings may reduce home energy consumption by up to 36 percent. It can also increase feed conversion by livestock and greatly reduce snow accumulation around farm buildings. In summer, shelterbelts provide beauty to the farmstead area while enhancing property values. Throughout the year, shelterbelts provide countless forms of wildlife with critical winter shelter and breeding habitat.

Because much of Iowa's wildlife is produced on privately owned lands, the Iowa Department of Natural Resources is currently engaged in a major shelterbelt cost-sharing program that is aimed to benefit both the landowner and our wildlife resource. Numerous studies have revealed that the dramatic decline in ring-necked pheasants and other wildlife is closely associated with agricultural and other land use changes that have largely removed winter and nesting cover.

In Iowa, the properly designed shelterbelt represents one of the most effective tools in restoring winter cover for pheasants and other wildlife. Cost sharing is made available through funds derived from the Chickadee Checkoff, a voluntary contribution for wildlife from Iowa individual income taxpayers, and from the sale of wildlife habitat stamps which are purchased by hunters and trappers. Contributions to the DNR from governmental and/or private conservation groups are also used to fund this program. The Shelterbelt Program is available in all Iowa counties

Application Procedure
Applications are available from DNR wildlife biologists and SCS district offices. Projects will be reviewed and recommended for agreements by the wildlife biologist and district conservationist, based on site suitability, location and proximity to other wildlife habitat. Applications will be accepted annually October 1 through February 15, or until all available funds are obligated.

The Cost-Sharing Breakdown
If planted according to DNR planting specifications, a cooperator will receive 75 percent of the cost of shelterbelt establishment, not to exceed $1600. Expansion of existing shelterbelts to at least eight rows will be at 75 percent of the actual cost, not to exceed $200 per row. A 14-row shelterbelt is the maximum size that can be cost-shared. Additional assistance, such as planting, may be available from county conservation boards or private conservation groups like the lzaak Walton League or Pheasants Forever.

Terms Of The Contract
The cooperator will be required to sign a 10-year contract including the following restrictions and specifications.

1. Shelterbelts must have a minimum of eight rows of planting stock with at least 100 feet per row in an L-shaped shelterbelt or 150 feet per row in an undirectional block. The minimum design must be two rows of shrubs or trees on the north and west margins, followed by a minimum 50-foot snow catch leeward of the first two rows (the snowcatch may be used to plant nesting cover, food plots, Christmas tree plantations or it may be cropped). The two rows after the snowcatch may be shrubs, deciduous trees or conifers. The next four interior rows must be dense conifers. Additional rows of shrubs may be planted interior to conifers for screening, but are subject to some limitations. (See diagram,*.pdf)
   
   
2. Improvements of existing shelterbelts not previously cost-shared are limited to the addition of more rows of trees or shrubs to bring them to minimum specifications.
   
   
3. Maximum specifications for which cost-sharing will be allowed are 14 rows of planting stock, with a maximum of 400 feet per undirectional row. For each additional pair of rows over eight, one of the rows must be planted with an approved conifer, located closest to the farmstead. The snowcatch requirement is dropped for shelterbelts of at least 10 rows that meet all other requirements. In a 14-row shelterbelt, one row of deciduous trees may be black walnut for eventual harvest. Three years following establishment of an eight-row shelterbelt, DNR cost sharing to enlarge the shelterbelt will be available, subject to some limitations.
   
   
4. Upon mutual agreement of the cooperator and the DNR, tree planting by the DNR or its designee may be substituted for all or part of the cost-sharing assistance. Standardized rates for labor and machinery operation will be used to calculate the value of the tree planting operation when determining cost-share payments.
   
   
5. Planning and design for shelterbelts, and deviations from the listed specifications, must be approved by the DNR wildlife biologist in consultation with the DNR's district forester.
   
   
6. Planting sites should be prepared with seedbed conditions the same as for corn. Sod planting or other exceptions may be allowed only by the DNR wildlife biologist. Species of conifers, shrubs and deciduous trees which may be grown in shelterbelts will be designated by the DNR, as well as size of stock and conditions of culture.
   
   
7. The cooperator agrees to maintain the area by controlling all competing vegetation within three feet of each tree and shrub for the first three years of the contract, protecting the area from livestock, poultry and rodents, and from herbicide drift from adjacent fields.
   
   
8. Cooperators must submit billings prior to September 1 of each year for reimbursements on forms provided by the DNR, and must include documentation of costs incurred for establishment. Billings will be approved or disapproved by the wildlife biologist after inspection of the project, and reimbursement will be made if the landowner has fulfilled the contract obligations.

The management contract may be amended at any time with the consent of both parties. The DNR reserves the right to cancel the management contract at any time for noncompliance with the terms of the contract, at which time the landowner will reimburse the DNR, for the full amount they have been paid.

Specific establishment guidelines and procedures that must be met will be provided by the DNR wildlife management biologist and by reference, are considered to be part of the contract.

Contact your local DNR wildlife biologist or Private Lands Biologist,*.pdf for further information.