USDA: Application Period Now Open For Wetland Reserve Enhancement Program Funding

The U.S. Department of Agriculture will invest up to $50 million in fiscal year 2024 through the Wetland Reserve Enhancement Partnership (WREP) to support conservation partners with local projects that help protect, restore and enhance critical wetlands on agricultural lands and help mitigate climate change as part of the Investing in America agenda.

USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) is accepting proposals until August 16, 2024. 

NRCS is prioritizing proposals that focus on producers who conserve wetlands in or that are anticipated to benefit disadvantaged communities, contributing to NRCS’ effort to advance equity and environmental justice in its delivery of conservation programs. 

“Our goal is to leverage the Inflation Reduction Act’s additional funding to help mitigate climate change through our conservation programs while protecting and improving critical natural resources like wetlands and wildlife habitat,” said NRCS Chief Terry Cosby. “The Wetland Reserve Enhancement Program takes a collective focus amongst partners and producers, with persistent engagement in conservation activities that helps grow the healthy functions and values of wetland ecosystems on working lands.” 

WREP enables effective integration of wetland restoration on working agricultural landscapes, providing meaningful benefits to farmers and ranchers who enroll in the program and to the communities where the wetlands exist. 

Click Here for the complete announcement.

Visit the NRCS-PA webpage for information on assistance available to landowners.

Related Articles - Watersheds:

-- DEP Chesapeake Bay Update: PA's Chesapeake Bay Watershed Implementation Plan Receives National Recognition For Collaboration, Partnerships  [PaEN]

-- DEP Published An eNotice Saying The 2024 PA Integrated Water Quality Report Has Been Published As Final

-- Penn State Research Traced Radioactive Radium In Freshwater Mussels To Oil & Gas Wastewater  [PaEN]

-- Penn State Extension Watershed Winds Newsletter Highlights Student AgVenture Camp; Watershed Stewards Native Plant Kit; Pond Management; Rain Barrel Guy; Much More!  [PaEN]

-- Penn State Extension Hosts June 10 Webinar On Watershed-Friendly Native Planting  [PaEN]

-- Penn State Extension Highlights Partnership Helping PA Communities Plant 2,500 Large Bare Root Trees; Woodland Health Practices Handbook; Chesapeake Stormwater Training  [PaEN]

-- Center For Watershed Protection Hosts 3-Part Stream Restoration Webinar Series Starting June 4  [PaEN]

-- Lancaster Farming: PA Dairies Get $25 Million Boost for Climate-Smart Practices; Penn State Seeking 100 Farms To Receive Assistance

-- USDA: Application Period Now Open For Wetland Reserve Enhancement Program Funding  [PaEN]

-- USDA Accepting Applications For Wetlands Mitigation Bank Projects

-- Penn State Extension: Woods & Wildlife News & Notes: May Forest Snapshot; Service Forester Assistance For Forestland Owners; Forest Education For Teachers, Youth Leaders 

NewsClips:

-- LancasterOnline: Conowingo Creek Restoration Serves As Model For Conservation 

-- Lancaster Clean Water Partners: 2023 Year-In-Review

-- Lancaster Farming: PA Dairies Get $25 Million Boost for Climate-Smart Practices; Penn State Seeking 100 Farms To Receive Assistance

-- Beaver County Times - Brian Whipkey: Fall Cankerworms Drop From Leaves Onto Homes, Cars, People In Southwest PA

-- Horn Farm Center For Agricultural Education Hosts 3-Part, In-Person Workshops On Mycology [Fungi & Mushrooms] In York Starting June 8

-- WHYY: Philadelphia Mussel Hatchery Produces More Juveniles, Thanks To New Discoveries

-- Inquirer: Philly’s Nursery-Grown Mussels Are Crucial To Cleaning Rivers, Local Scientists Just Made A Major Breakthrough

-- Chesapeake Bay Foundation - B.J. Small: Marvelous Macros - Tiny Aquatic Creatures With An Important Message

-- WTAJ/AP: Researchers Find Tiny Organism Has Power To Reduce Persistent Greenhouse Gas Emissions In Farm Fields

-- PennLive: Wiconisco Creek Anglers Assn. Organized 30+ Volunteers For Stream Cleanup In Dauphin County

-- Warren Times: Audubon Community Nature Center Volunteers Teach In Elementary School Nature Education Program

-- The Daily Item: Susquehanna University Offering Watershed Studies Minor

-- Inquirer - Frank Kummer, et al: Since 2020, 55 Million Square Feet Of Warehouse Space Have Reshaped Jobs, Traffic, Landscapes

-- Delaware RiverKeeper May 31 RiverWatch Video Report

-- US DOE, US Treasury, USDA Release Joint Policy Statement And Principles On Voluntary Carbon Credit Markets

[Posted: May 29, 2024]


6/3/2024

Go To Preceding Article     Go To Next Article

Return to This PA Environment Digest's Main Page