The USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service announced $18 million in support for several projects in Pennsylvania that will benefit water quality in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed through the Regional Conservation Partnership Program.  The projects include--

-- Comprehensive Watershed Conservation in Dairy and Livestock Landscapes of the

Chesapeake Bay, Lead Partner: National Fish and Wildlife Foundation A large, diverse group of partners will use a “raise the bar” approach that rewards agricultural producers in Virginia, West Virginia, and Pennsylvania for implementing higher impact, priority conservation practices in targeted subwatersheds and counties of the Chesapeake Bay Watershed.

The approach will address both water quality degradation and inadequate habitat for fish and wildlife in the CBW through a combination of comprehensive conservation planning, conservation practice implementation, and strategic habitat restoration. A new concept of conservation delivery is proposed: the conservation brokerage, where agency-neutral funding is used to best address resource concern. The partners will also use cost-benefit targeting to focus financial assistance dollars

-- Mason-Dixon Working Lands Partnership, Lead Partner: Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay Partners will bring significant financial resources to areas of Pennsylvania and Maryland within the Chesapeake Bay to overcome common barriers to landowner adoption of conservation systems, including limited outreach, lack of technical assistance and funding, and limited coordination among programs and private markets. A focus on soil health and resilience—as well as harnessing natural systems including riparian forest buffers, restored wetlands, and healthy forests—will not only reduce nutrient loading to the Chesapeake Bay but also improve water quality in high-value streams and water bodies in the area for the benefit of fisheries, drinking water supply, and recreation.

For more information, visit the NRCS Regional Conservation Partnership Program webpage.

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Latest From The Chesapeake Bay Journal

1/16/2015