USDA Seeks Project Proposals for Wetlands Protection

United States Department of Agriculture officials in Oregon are seeking public proposals for projects that protect, enhance, and restore critical wetlands on the state’s agricultural lands.

According to local USDA administrators, up to $15 million has been made available through the Wetland Reserve Enhancement Partnership, a voluntary program through which the USDA's Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) establishes agreements with state and local governments, tribes, conservation groups and other organizations to carry out high priority wetland protection, restoration and enhancement projects, and to improve wildlife habitat.

The NRCS is the leading federal agency for wetland conservation on private lands, but it can’t do everything alone, so it also partners with others to establish conservation easements with private landowners.

"We work together with the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and other conservation agencies and stakeholders in Oregon to determine priority areas where we can target our investments in wetland restoration," said Bari Williams, easement specialist with the NRCS in Oregon. "NRCS wetland easements help private landowners restore and protect wetlands on their property so that they can continue to provide habitat for fish and wildlife for future generations."

And because various agencies and individuals can apply to the NRCS' multiple easement programs, there are a variety of locations and types of wetlands affected by these types of conservation efforts, benefitting the wetlands’ local communities (and wildlife) as well as the landowners themselves.

Proposals for the Wetland Reserve Enhancement Partnership must be submitted to the Oregon NRCS state office by April 24. Private landowner easement applications are available year round, though proposal selection aligns with fiscal year budgeting schedules.

Over the past 200 years, the U.S. has lost roughly 117 million acres of wetlands to agricultural, residential, and commercial construction, with more 86 million acres of former wetlands lost in Oregon, according to the wetlands conservancy website.

And while about 1.4 million acres of wetlands remain in the state (roughly 2 percent of Oregon's total land surface), there are only 169 active wetland conservation easements, providing the long-term protection of just 60,000 acres, said State NRCS spokeswoman Tracy Robillard.

"When we say 'critical' wetlands, we are basically talking about wetlands that provide nesting or breeding habitat for threatened and endangered fish and wildlife species within three priority areas in Oregon," Robillard explained.

The coastal estuaries, Willamette Valley wet prairies, and migratory waterbird and sage grouse habitats in southeastern Oregon’s Harney, Klamath, and Lake counties have been identified as priority areas for conservation easements based on feedback and collaboration from partners, like the ODFW, she said.

"Most of these easements are permanent," Robillard said, "meaning they protect the land forever, though some of them are 30-year easements."

For more information about the programs or to discuss a project proposal, contact Williams at 503-414-3226 or email Bari.Williams@or.usda.gov.

Photo Courtesy: Jim Leonard, care of Tracy Robillard, NRCS.