Wetland projects to receive $13.9M

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Service will spend about $13.9 million on wetland restoration projects with a presence in Arkansas, according to a news release.

About $6.6 million will be set aside for the state, and another $7.3 million will be spent on three watershed projects.

Landowners interested in surrendering their land to the Wetland Reserve Easement program have until Jan. 26 to apply to the Natural Resources Conservation Service. The program would buy the land, which would then be protected from development. Landowners can choose from a 30-year easement or a permanent one.

Watershed projects are also a part of the program.

The Cache River Wetland Reserve Enhancement Program in Monroe, Prairie and Woodruff counties would restore forest, reducing pollution from indirect sources and improving water quality in the Cache and White rivers, according to the release.

The Batture Lands Wetlands Reserve Enhancement Program in Chicot, Crittenden, Desha, Lee, Mississippi and Phillips counties would focus on sustainability in land and water management.

A third watershed project, the Tri State Conservation Coordination Committee Wetlands Reserve Enhancement Program, would restore forests in parts of the Mississippi Alluvial Valley in Arkansas, Louisiana and Mississippi.