[PCA] Fwd: USDA Seeks Partner Proposals to Protect and Restore Critical Wetlands on tribal and private lands-Submit proposals to NRCS state offices by July 31, 2015

[De Angelis, Patricia]

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: USDA Office of Communications <usda at public.govdelivery.com>
Date: Mon, Jun 22, 2015 at 10:02 AM
Subject: USDA Seeks Partner Proposals to Protect and Restore Critical
Wetlands

USDA Office of Communications Release No. 0177.15



Contact: Sylvia Rainford (202) 720-2536



USDA SEEKS PARTNER PROPOSALS TO PROTECT AND RESTORE CRITICAL WETLANDS



WASHINGTON, June 22, 2015 – Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack today
announced the availability of $17.5 million in financial and technical
assistance to help eligible conservation partners voluntarily protect,
restore and enhance critical wetlands on private and tribal agricultural
lands.



"USDA has leveraged partnerships to accomplish a great deal on America's
wetlands over the past two decades, Vilsack said. "This year's funding will
help strengthen these partnerships and achieve greater wetland acreage
throughout the nation."



Funding will be provided through the Wetland Reserve Enhancement
Partnership (WREP), a special enrollment option under the Agricultural
Conservation Easement Program's Wetland Reserve Easement component. It is
administered by the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS). Under
WREP, states, local units of governments, non-governmental organizations
and American Indian tribes collaborate with USDA through cooperative and
partnership agreements. These partners work with willing tribal and private
landowners who voluntarily enroll eligible land into easements to protect,
restore and enhance wetlands on their properties. WREP was created through
the 2014 Farm Bill and was formerly known as the Wetlands Reserve
Enhancement Program.



Wetland reserve easements allow landowners to successfully enhance and
protect habitat for wildlife on their lands, reduce impacts from flooding,
recharge groundwater and provide outdoor recreational and educational
opportunities. The voluntary nature of NRCS' easement programs allows
effective integration of wetland restoration on working landscapes,
providing benefits to farmers and ranchers who enroll in the program, as
well as benefits to the local and rural communities where the wetlands
exist.



Proposals must be submitted to NRCS state offices by July 31, 2015.
Projects can range from individual to watershed-wide to ecosystem-wide.
Under a similar program in the 2008 Farm Bill, NRCS and its partners
entered into 272 easements that enrolled more than 44,020 acres of wetlands
from 2009 through 2013. Most of these agreements occurred through the
Mississippi River Basin Healthy Watersheds Initiative (MRBI). Through
partnerships, MRBI identifies high-priority watersheds where focused
conservation on agricultural land can make the most gains in improving
local, state and regional water quality. The new collaborative WREP will
build on those successes by providing the financial and technical
assistance necessary for states, non-governmental organizations and tribes
to leverage resources to restore and protect wetlands and wildlife habitat.



Through WREP, NRCS will sign multi-year agreements with partners to
leverage resources, including funding, to achieve maximum wetland
restoration, protection and enhancement and to create optimum wildlife
habitat on enrolled acres. WREP partners are required to contribute a
funding match for financial or technical assistance. These partners work
directly with eligible landowners interested in enrolling their
agricultural land into conservation wetland easements.



Today's announcement builds on the roughly $332 million USDA has announced
this year
<http://links.govdelivery.com/track?type=click&enid=ZWFzPTEmbWFpbGluZ2lkPTIwMTUwNjIyLjQ2Mjk2NzIxJm1lc3NhZ2VpZD1NREItUFJELUJVTC0yMDE1MDYyMi40NjI5NjcyMSZkYXRhYmFzZWlkPTEwMDEmc2VyaWFsPTE3MzYzMDk0JmVtYWlsaWQ9UGF0cmljaWFfRGVBbmdlbGlzQGZ3cy5nb3YmdXNlcmlkPVBhdHJpY2lhX0RlQW5nZWxpc0Bmd3MuZ292JmZsPSZleHRyYT1NdWx0aXZhcmlhdGVJZD0mJiY=&&&101&&&http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/detail/national/newsroom/releases/?cid=NRCSEPRD334218>
to
protect and restore agricultural working lands, grasslands and wetlands.
Collectively, NRCS's easement programs help productive farm, ranch and
tribal lands remain in agriculture and protect the nation's critical
wetlands and grasslands, home to diverse wildlife and plant species. Under
the former Wetlands Reserve Program, private landowners, tribes and
entities such as land trusts and conservation organizations enrolled 2.7
million acres through 14,500 agreements for a total NRCS and partner
investment of $4.3 billion in financial and technical assistance.



The funding announced today was authorized by the 2014 Farm Bill, which
builds on historic economic gains in rural America over the past six years,
while achieving meaningful reform and billions of dollars in savings for
taxpayers. Since enactment, USDA has made significant progress to implement
each provision of this critical legislation, including providing disaster
relief to farmers and ranchers; strengthening risk management tools;
expanding access to rural credit; funding critical research; establishing
innovative public-private conservation partnerships; developing new markets
for rural-made products; and investing in infrastructure, housing, and
community facilities to help improve quality of life in rural America. For
more information, visit www.usda.gov/farmbill
<http://links.govdelivery.com/track?type=click&enid=ZWFzPTEmbWFpbGluZ2lkPTIwMTUwNjIyLjQ2Mjk2NzIxJm1lc3NhZ2VpZD1NREItUFJELUJVTC0yMDE1MDYyMi40NjI5NjcyMSZkYXRhYmFzZWlkPTEwMDEmc2VyaWFsPTE3MzYzMDk0JmVtYWlsaWQ9UGF0cmljaWFfRGVBbmdlbGlzQGZ3cy5nb3YmdXNlcmlkPVBhdHJpY2lhX0RlQW5nZWxpc0Bmd3MuZ292JmZsPSZleHRyYT1NdWx0aXZhcmlhdGVJZD0mJiY=&&&102&&&http://www.usda.gov/wps/portal/usda/usdahome?navid=farmbill>
.



Visit NRCS's ACEP
<http://links.govdelivery.com/track?type=click&enid=ZWFzPTEmbWFpbGluZ2lkPTIwMTUwNjIyLjQ2Mjk2NzIxJm1lc3NhZ2VpZD1NREItUFJELUJVTC0yMDE1MDYyMi40NjI5NjcyMSZkYXRhYmFzZWlkPTEwMDEmc2VyaWFsPTE3MzYzMDk0JmVtYWlsaWQ9UGF0cmljaWFfRGVBbmdlbGlzQGZ3cy5nb3YmdXNlcmlkPVBhdHJpY2lhX0RlQW5nZWxpc0Bmd3MuZ292JmZsPSZleHRyYT1NdWx0aXZhcmlhdGVJZD0mJiY=&&&103&&&http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/main/national/programs/easements/acep/>
webpage
to learn more about NRCS's wetland conservation options.



Having trouble viewing this email? View it as a Web page
<http://links.govdelivery.com/track?type=click&enid=ZWFzPTEmbWFpbGluZ2lkPTIwMTUwNjIyLjQ2Mjk2NzIxJm1lc3NhZ2VpZD1NREItUFJELUJVTC0yMDE1MDYyMi40NjI5NjcyMSZkYXRhYmFzZWlkPTEwMDEmc2VyaWFsPTE3MzYzMDk0JmVtYWlsaWQ9UGF0cmljaWFfRGVBbmdlbGlzQGZ3cy5nb3YmdXNlcmlkPVBhdHJpY2lhX0RlQW5nZWxpc0Bmd3MuZ292JmZsPSZleHRyYT1NdWx0aXZhcmlhdGVJZD0mJiY=&&&100&&&http://content.govdelivery.com/accounts/USDAOC/bulletins/10abc61>



If you have questions about USDA activities, please visit our Ask the Expert
<http://links.govdelivery.com/track?type=click&enid=ZWFzPTEmbWFpbGluZ2lkPTIwMTUwNjIyLjQ2Mjk2NzIxJm1lc3NhZ2VpZD1NREItUFJELUJVTC0yMDE1MDYyMi40NjI5NjcyMSZkYXRhYmFzZWlkPTEwMDEmc2VyaWFsPTE3MzYzMDk0JmVtYWlsaWQ9UGF0cmljaWFfRGVBbmdlbGlzQGZ3cy5nb3YmdXNlcmlkPVBhdHJpY2lhX0RlQW5nZWxpc0Bmd3MuZ292JmZsPSZleHRyYT1NdWx0aXZhcmlhdGVJZD0mJiY=&&&116&&&http://www.usda.gov/wps/portal/usda/usdahome?navid=ASK_EXPERT2>
page.
This feature is designed to assist you in obtaining the information you are
seeking.



*USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer. To file a complaint of
discrimination, write: USDA, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Civil
Rights, Office of Adjudication, 1400 Independence Ave., SW, Washington, DC
20250-9410 or call (866) 632-9992 (Toll-free Customer Service), (800)
877-8339 (Local or Federal relay), (866) 377-8642 (Relay voice users).*
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://lists.plantconservation.org/pipermail/native-plants_lists.plantconservation.org/attachments/20150622/6791c33c/attachment.html>