The USDA is investing up to $5 million in the Wetland Mitigation Banking Program, a grant program that supports the development of mitigation banks for use by agricultural producers seeking to maintain eligibility for USDA programs.
“Our goal is to make sure agricultural producers have the tools they need to successfully farm or ranch and conserve natural resources,” Wisconsin Conservationist Angela Biggs said. “Wetlands are critical to our efforts to respond to the climate crisis, and wetland mitigation banks enable the restoration or creation of wetlands for the purpose of compensating for unavoidable impacts to wetlands at another location. The Wetland Mitigation Banking Program helps states, local governments, and other qualified partners restore, create, and enhance wetland ecosystems.”
Funds are available to Tribes, government entities, nonprofits, and other organizations.
To participate in most USDA programs, agricultural producers agree to comply with the wetland conservation provisions, which means producers will not farm converted wetlands or convert wetlands to enable agricultural production. In situations where avoidance or on-site mitigation is challenging, the Farm Bill allows for off-site mitigation through the purchase of mitigation banking credits.
The Natural Resources Conservation Service is prioritizing funds in states with large amounts of wetlands as well as large amounts of producers with wetland determination requests. This includes Wisconsin, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio and South Dakota.
NRCS is accepting proposals through Grants.gov by 11:59 p.m. ET on August 16, 2021. To learn more, visit the WMBP webpage.
Awardees may use WMBP funding to support mitigation bank site identification, development of a mitigation banking instrument, site restoration, land surveys, permitting and title searches, and market research. WMBP funding cannot be used to purchase land or a conservation easement.
Leave a Reply