Funding for Agricultural Wetland Mitigation Banks here in Iowa

by | Aug 19, 2016 | 5 Ag Stories, News

by Whitney Flach

Yesterday, the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) announced that $7 million will be invested from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to fund agricultural wetland mitigation banks in 10 Midwest and Northern Great Plain states.

The announcement includes funding for eight new wetland mitigation banks, and will help two existing banks expand to meet the needs of agriculture operations. States impacted by this announcement are Georgia, Illinois, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, and South Dakota. For Iowa the selected project is Iowa Agricultural Mitigation, Inc.

NRCS Chief Jason Weller said, ?Wetlands are vital and dynamic ecosystems that provide important functions?from groundwater recharge to prime wildlife habitat.?

The 2014 Farm Bill created The Wetland Mitigation Banking Program, which helps states, local governments or other qualified partners develop wetland mitigation banks that restore, create, or enhance wetland ecosystems.

?USDA?s new Wetland Mitigation Banking Program will ensure meaningful wetland restoration and protection on the landscape while expanding options for farmers and ranchers, says Weller.?

Wetland mitigation banking uses a market-based approach to restore, create, or enhance wetlands in one place to compensate for unavoidable impacts to wetlands at another location. Banked wetland mitigation credits are made available after the restoration, creation, or enhancement of previously converted wetlands protected by a conservation easement. Wetland mitigation requires the replacement of all lost wetland functions, values, and acres.

In the last seven years, USDA has invested more than $29 billion to help producers make conservation improvements, working with a record 500,000 farmers, ranchers and landowners to protect land and water on more than 400 million acres nationwide.