USDA: New Partnership Projects to Improve 16,500 Acres of Wetlands in 12 States, Colorado Included

***NRCS Press Release***


WASHINGTON, April 24, 2012 – Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack today announced funding for 13 partnership agreements for high-priority wetland restoration and conservation work in 12 states. The USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) and a network of partners have nearly $15 million in financial and technical assistance available for these projects in 2012 and will enter into long-term agreements to deliver additional assistance over the next four years.


Selected for their significant contributions toward wetlands restoration, enhancement or protection, the projects will improve water quality, prevent flooding and enhance wildlife habitat on more than 16,500 acres of wetlands. Participating states are Colorado, Georgia, Iowa, Kansas, Maryland, Missouri, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, South Dakota and Texas. 


The benefits of these new partnership agreements include increased opportunities to participate in the Wetlands Reserve Program, which offers easements and contracts to restore wetlands. In addition, the selected projects also offer accelerated and improved wetland restoration, monitoring or management assistance from NRCS and its partners. Participants retain ownership and access to the land, and in some locations may be able to generate income from grazing or recreation approved by NRCS. 


Landowners may apply at their local NRCS office (find your nearest NRCS service center at http://go.usa.gov/m2Y) or by contacting the proposal partner listed below.


Learn more about WREP at http://go.usa.gov/m24 and find out about other NRCS programs and initiatives at http://go.usa.gov/m22.


Next month, the NRCS celebrates the 20th anniversary of the Wetlands Reserve Program. More than 11,000 of America’s private landowners have voluntarily enrolled over 2.3 million acres into the WRP.

State	Project Title	Proposal Partner	2012 Partnership Funding Level
Colorado	Lower South Platte	Rocky Mountain Bird Observatory	$34,241
Georgia	Arabia Bay	Georgia Forestry Commission	$2,077,500
Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, South Dakota	Missouri River Flood Recovery	The Nature Conservancy	$2,920,036
Iowa	Southern Prairie Pothole Wetland Initiative	Iowa Department of Natural Resources	$1,038,000
Maryland	Nassawango/Dividing Creek	The Nature Conservancy	$500,000
Nebraska	Working Lands Approach to Restoration – Rainwater Basin	Nebraska Association of Resource Districts	$538,503
Nebraska	Integrated Monitoring and Management – Rainwater Basin 1	Nebraska Game and Parks Commission	$40,000
New Hampshire	Southeast Land Trust of New Hampshire	Southeast Land Trust of New Hampshire	$1,258,733
North Carolina	Coastal Federation Proposal	North Carolina Coastal Federation	$50,000
Pennsylvania	Monitoring Bog Turtle	Mid-Atlantic Center for Herpetology and Conservation	$40,000
Pennsylvania	Ohio River Watershed Initiative	The Trust for Tomorrow	$80,000
South Dakota	East Dakota Water Development District	East Dakota Water Development District	$2,239,200
Texas	Gulf Coast Conservation Initiative	Coastal Bend Bays and Estuaries Program	$4,000,000
Total			$14,816,213

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