The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) has announced up to $30 million is available in technical and financial assistance through the Wetland Reserve Enhancement Partnership (WREP) to help conservation partners protect and restore critical wetlands on agricultural lands in Missouri.

A press release says restored wetlands help improve water quality downstream, enhance wildlife habitat, reduce impacts from flooding, and provide recreational benefits.

Kevin Norton, acting Chief of USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) says this partnership enhances the locally-driven process to better address critical wetland functions that progress beyond localities. WREP works with other NRCS landscape-level conservation efforts to coordinate the delivery of conservation assistance to producers in targeted areas that yield the most impacts for accelerated benefits nationally and regionally.

Eligible conservation partners in Missouri will work through WREP to voluntarily execute high priority wetland protection, restoration, and enhancement activities on eligible agriculture lands.

NRCS will review partners’ project proposals and evaluate priority resource concerns, objectives, costs and expected outcomes for each project and rank proposals based on criteria set forth in the requirements listed on each state’s NRCS website.

Proposals should be emailed to the NRCS state contact listed in the local announcement by November 30, 2020.