How to Get the Shoreline Incentive Program (SIP)
Burnett County Land and Water Conservation Department · Burnett County, northwest Wisconsin, WI
What you get
Burnett County pays up to 70 percent of the cost of plants and materials for shoreline planting, plus a one-time enrollment payment of $250, and an annual property tax credit of up to $50. Understand the commitment before enrolling, because this is closer to a long-running conservation enrollment than a one-time reimbursement: the county describes owners of enrolled parcels as receiving the annual tax credit in return for ensuring permanent protection of the shoreline zone. The program is open to private shoreline property owners on Burnett County lakes and rivers, so it is a waterfront program rather than a general front-yard one, and department staff make a free site visit as part of the process. Roughly 800 parcels have enrolled since 2000. No dollar cap is published on the 70 percent plants and materials share (Burnett County Land and Water Conservation Department Shoreline Incentive Program page; last verified August 2026).
- Residential: Up to 70% of the cost of plants and materials, plus a one-time $250 enrollment payment
Are you eligible?
- Be a Burnett County Land and Water Conservation Department customer
- Property located in: Siren, Webster, Grantsburg, Danbury
- Private shoreline property owner on a lake or river in Burnett County (waterfront property, not general residential landscaping)
- Enrollment commits the parcel to permanent protection of the shoreline zone, which is the condition attached to the annual property tax credit; read this before signing up
- Free site visit by department staff is part of the process
- Only native plants and materials for the shoreline planting are cost-shared
Before you start
Do not remove turf or begin work before you have written approval. This program requires pre-approval. Starting early can disqualify the project even if everything else is correct.
Found during the 2026-08-17 discovery sweep, from a carry-forward lead opened 2026-07-31, and confirmed by a dedicated adversarial reviewer on the live page. Two corrections were applied to what the state research agent first reported, and both matter. First, the agent reported that the page contradicts itself, calling the $50 an "annual payment" in one place and a "property tax credit" in another; the reviewer could not reproduce that on the live page, where the $50 appears once and consistently as an annual property tax credit, so the copy above calls it a property tax credit and never a cash payment. Second, the permanent shoreline-protection commitment attached to enrollment was not in the original report at all and is surfaced in coverageDetails and requirements rather than buried, on the same reasoning that put the Hailey Idaho clawback in plain view: a homeowner should not discover an encumbrance after the fact. The cities array is illustrative of the county, not an eligibility test.
What applying usually looks like
A general guide. Always confirm the exact steps on the official program page, since each provider runs its process a little differently.
- 1
Apply and get written approval first
Submit your application to Burnett County Land and Water Conservation Department and wait for written approval before you remove any turf or start work. Starting early is the most common reason a rebate is denied.
- 2
Do the conversion
Replace your lawn with the qualifying landscaping, following the eligibility requirements above.
- 3
Submit your claim
After the work is done, submit your claim on the official program page. Confirm the exact forms, receipts, and any photos they require there, since those vary by program.
The application checklist
How to apply for the Shoreline Incentive Program (SIP)
These are the steps this application actually takes. The Pollinator Patch app walks you through each one free, with reminders and a photo locker.
- 1
Check eligibility
Make sure you qualify with Burnett County Land and Water Conservation Department before you start.
- 2
Get pre-approval if required
Some programs require approval before any work begins. Check with Burnett County Land and Water Conservation Department and take before photos of the existing yard first.
- 3
Do the work
Complete the project, take before and after photos, and save every receipt.
- 4
Submit your application
Send Burnett County Land and Water Conservation Department the completed application with your photos and receipts, then watch for the confirmation.
In the app
Track this rebate free in the Pollinator Patch app
Free step-by-step guidance for the Shoreline Incentive Program (SIP), warnings before the mistakes that disqualify applications, and a photo locker that keeps your before and after photos, receipts, and notes together for the months a rebate takes.
Every program listed cites its official source, and each program page shows the date we last verified it against that source. Program details change throughout the year, so always confirm requirements, amounts, and eligibility directly with the program before starting work. Pollinator Patch is not affiliated with any rebate program and does not guarantee approval.
See a problem with a program? Report it
Programs change throughout the year. If something here is out of date or wrong, tell us and we'll check it against the provider.