Wetland restoration to reduce flooding now and in the future
Restoration of wetlands in the Midwest "has the potential to significantly reduce peak river flows during floods - not only now, but also in the future if heavy rains continue to increase in intensity," says Oregon State U.
Wetland banks for farmers to get USDA boost
Landowners will gain a chance to be paid for wetlands preservation under a USDA project to create at least nine wetland mitigation banks, said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack. USDA will put $9 million into the project to help states, local governments and other sponsors set up wetland mitigation banks to restore, create or enhance wetlands. The banks would compensate farmers for conservation projects that offset losses of wetlands on other farms. The federal government has a goal of no net loss of wetlands.
First Conservation Reserve signup since 2013 is set
The USDA announced the first general signup for the Conservation Reserve, which pays landowners an annual rent to idle fragile cropland for at least 10 years, since the 2014 farm law limited the reserve to a maximum of 24 million acres.
Isolated wetlands important for clean water, researchers say
Geographically isolated wetlands, such as the prairie potholes of the upper Midwest and the playas of the Southwest, "play an outsized role in providing clean water and other environmental benefits," says Indiana University in describing...
Wetlands benefits vary for greenhouse gases, nitrate runoff
Wetlands in the upper Mississippi and Ohio River watersheds can remove up to 1,800 pounds of nitrogen per acre from field runoff, says a USDA study of the economic benefits of wetland conservation.
Up to $100 million to restore Gulf wetlands and farmland
The Agriculture Department and a congressionally created foundation will put up to $100 million into restoration of wetlands, farmland and waterways damaged by the Deepwater Horizon oil disaster of 2010.
Wetlands have role in methane production
A study by a University of Guelph researcher, published in Global Change Biology, says wetlands are the likely source of a recent and surprising increase in emissions of methane.
Making conservation pay in dollars to farmers
It's well-known that agricultural practices can affect soil fertility, water quality, wildlife populations and pest numbers for good or bad.