Habitat Conservation
Assistance Network
Proactive Conservation for Working Lands

The Wildlife Habitat Conservation and Management Program (WHCMP) is a cooperative effort involving state and local governments and other partners to incentivize private landowners to voluntarily conserve native wildlife habitat. The Oregon Legislature created the WHCMP to offer a property tax incentive to private landowners who want to provide wildlife habitat on their properties instead of, or in addition to, farming, growing timber or other land uses. Under the WHCMP, land subject to an approved wildlife habitat conservation and management plan receives a wildlife habitat special assessment, where property taxes are assessed at the relatively low value that would apply if the land were being farmed or used for commercial forestry.

The objective of the WHCMP is to preserve, enhance or improve the composition, structure or function of habitat for native wildlife species. The WHCMP supports the efforts of Oregon’s Conservation Strategy, whose primary focus is on improving and expanding voluntary conservation efforts. Tax incentive programs aimed at improving wildlife habitat are tools used to promote and support voluntary conservation actions taken by landowners.

Contact Wildlife Habitat Conservation and Management Program (WHCMP)

Listed as:

• State Funding / Technical Resources
• Federal and State Tax Incentives and Programs