On October 29, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced a $186,619 grant to the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources to enhance its wetlands program with a web-based tool that helps restoration efforts.

“Wetlands are an important component of Pennsylvania’s environment, which contribute greatly to the state’s ability to protect water quality and natural resources,” said EPA Mid-Atlantic Regional Administrator Cosmo Servidio. “This award is a great example of the effective partnership between federal and local agencies to protect and restore Pennsylvania’s wetlands.”

Pennsylvania received the funding for a project entitled: “Development of approaches to improve restoration of aquatic resources in Pennsylvania.” This project will support the further development and refinement of a plant community predictor tool.

The web-based tool helps restoration efforts by recommending what types of plants are beneficial to improving the health of the wetlands.

The tool will provide a planting blueprint rather than just a generic list of plants, which will improve the function of the wetland and replacement value for more successful plantings associated with restoration/mitigation projects.

The funds were provided through EPA’s Wetland Program Development Grant program, which enables state, local and tribal governments to conduct a range of projects that promote research and pollution reduction efforts related to wetlands.

For more information on this program, visit EPA’s Wetlands Program Development Grant webpage.

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[Posted: October 29, 2020]

11/2/2020