The United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) is investing $10 million this year in 27 new high-priority watersheds and 13 existing projects that will help improve water quality in the Mississippi River basin.
This investment is part of a commitment of $100 million over four years to address critical water quality concerns in priority watersheds while boosting rural economies.
New projects include:
“ Putting to work NRCS-recommended conservation practices helps clean and conserve water, makes agricultural operations more resilient, and stimulates rural economies as this work often relies on help from biologists, foresters, pipe makers, dirt movers, welders, engineers and many more different professions to implement ,” NRCS Chief Jason Weller said.
Conservation systems implemented in these areas will reduce the amount of nutrients flowing from agricultural land into waterways, curb erosion and improve the resiliency of working lands in the face of droughts and floods. This investment builds on $18.5 million already allocated to projects in the basin in fiscal 2015.
See full list of projects.