The U.S. Department of Agriculture is investing $328 million in conservation funding to help landowners protect and restore key farmlands, grasslands and wetlands across the nation.
The initiative, according to agriculture secretary Tom Vilsack in a release, will benefit wildlife and promote outdoor recreation and related sectors of the economy.
“Conservation easements help farmers and ranchers protect valuable agricultural lands from development, restore lands that are best suited for grazing, and return wetlands to their natural conditions,” Vilsack said. “These easements are making a dramatic and positive impact for our food supply, rural communities and species habitat.”
The funding is provided through the Agricultural Conservation Easement Program, which was created in the 2014 Farm Bill to protect critical wetlands, and encourage producers to keep lands in farming and ranching. Approximately 380 projects nationwide were selected to protect and restore 32,000 acres of prime farmland, 45,000 acres of grasslands, and 52,000 acres of wetlands.
In addition to protecting cropland and critical habitats, conservation strengthens outdoor recreation and helps boost the economy, the USDA said. According to the National Fish and Wildlife Federation, annual U.S. conservation spending totals $38.8 billion, but it produces $93.2 billion of economic output throughout the economy.
That output takes the form of more than 660,000 jobs, $41.6 billion in income, and a $59.7 billion contribution to the national gross domestic product, officials said.
Through the conservation program, private or tribal landowners as well as other eligible conservation partners working with landowners, can request USDA assistance to protect and enhance agricultural land through an agricultural or wetland easement.
The program consolidates three former Natural Resources Conservation Service easement programs: the Farm and Ranch Lands Protection program, the Grasslands Reserve program, and Wetlands Reserve program.
To find out more information on the conservation program, visit NRCS.usda.gov/GetStarted.
