Wisconsin Native Landscaping Rebates

Up to $50 reimbursement for native plants purchased through the Plant Dane Native Plant Program and planted in rain gardens, available only to residents who attend a Rain Garden Coaching session. MAMSWaP offers these 30-minute one-on-one coaching sessions once per year, in February/March; the sessions are open to all Dane County residents, but the $50 reimbursement is limited to residents of MAMSWaP communities. In 2026 the reimbursement was issued as a gift card.

MAMSWaP communities include Madison and surrounding Dane County municipalities. Check cityofmadison.com for current session dates and registration.

The Menomonee River Watershed Task Force and Milwaukee County offer resources for rain garden installation and native plantings in the Menomonee watershed. Contact for current cost-share program availability.

MMSD Fresh Coast Guardians plant sale is the main discount program for most Milwaukee-area residents.

Annual rain garden native plant sale. Plants sold in bundles of 4 for $12 ($3 per plant), with a $45 minimum order of 16 plants or one garden kit. Orders are placed online with pickup in June. Fresh Coast Guardians offers free design tools, workshops, and installation guidance. No cash rebate; discount at point of purchase. The sale is closed until next season.

MMSD GIPP funding is for organizations only, not homeowners. The plant sale is the main residential incentive.

Oneida County Land and Water Conservation Department reimburses homeowners up to $10,000 or 50% of total project cost, whichever is less, for non-engineered conservation practices including rain gardens and native plantings (engineered practices are also eligible at a higher deposit tier). A refundable deposit is required before design work: $500 for non-engineered practices, $1,000 for engineered practices. The practice must remain in place for 10 years (Oneida County Land and Water Conservation Department; last verified July 2026).

The Rice Lake Lake Protection and Rehabilitation District reimburses 50% of a qualifying project cost, not to exceed $1,000, after completion. Qualifying projects are shoreline restoration with native vegetation (minimum 300 square feet), a rain garden planted with natives, rock infiltration, and water diversion. Open to Rice Lake property owners along or away from shore; rip rap is excluded (Rice Lake Lake District Reimbursement Program pages; last verified July 2026).

This is a Chapter 33 lake protection and rehabilitation district, a statutory unit of government, not a volunteer lake association, and you are the applicant of record.

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).

The City of Appleton credits $25 a year against the stormwater utility bill for a single-family or two-family property with an onsite rain garden. The credit runs for 3 years, after which a new application may be submitted. The rain garden must receive runoff from at least a quarter of the impervious surfaces on the site and be built to Wisconsin DNR Publication PUB-WI-776 standards. This is a modest ongoing bill credit rather than a cash rebate for the install (City of Appleton Stormwater Utility Credit Policy; last verified July 2026).

The Lake Ripley Management District cost-shares up to 50% of a project that controls erosion, protects water quality, or restores wildlife habitat on a property in the district. Eligible projects include shoreline erosion control and native plantings, rain gardens, and native buffer strips between the lake and a lawn. No dollar cap is published (Lake Ripley Management District Cost-share Programs page and its Landowner Cost-Share Project Packet; last verified July 2026).

You, the homeowner, are the applicant of record for this program.

Jefferson County Land and Water Conservation Department reimburses 75% of total project costs up to $1,000 for native plant gardens adjacent to water, rain gardens, runoff diversions, and rock infiltration trenches. Eligible on properties within 1,000 feet of lakes and 300 feet of rivers or streams (Jefferson County LWCD Programs and Services page; last verified July 2026).

This program is funded by the state DNR and administered by the county.

Marinette County cost-shares shoreline buffer restoration at 60 to 80 percent, with the rate rising as the buffer gets deeper, and a minimum buffer depth of 20 feet. This is a waterfront program, not a general front-yard one: it is for riparian landowners restoring native vegetation along a shoreline. No dollar cap is published for buffer restoration itself. A separate erosion control practice, such as rip-rap installed alongside the buffer, is cost-shared at 50 percent up to $2,000, and that $2,000 cap belongs to the erosion control practice only, not to the buffer work (Marinette County Land and Water Conservation Division cost share program page; last verified August 2026).

The City of La Crosse credits a fixed share of the residential stormwater fee for a qualifying rain garden: 80% for 185 cubic feet or greater, 60% for 139 to 184 cubic feet, and 40% for 92 to 138 cubic feet. Residential properties are billed a flat 1 Equivalent Runoff Unit per quarter at $36.18 effective January 1, 2026, so the maximum credit is worth roughly $116 a year. Single-family, twindo, duplex, and triplex properties of three or fewer units are eligible (City of La Crosse Stormwater Fees page and its Residential Credit Application Policy; last verified July 2026).

This is an ongoing bill credit, not a one-time cash rebate.