USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) in Florida has announced it will invest $9,635,389 in the state to install conservation practices on 70,410 acres of private land to improve water quality and coastal ecosystems.
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From USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service in Florida:
GAINESVILLE, Fla., Sept. 21, 2016 —USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) will invest $9,635,389 in Florida to install conservation practices on 70,410 acres of private land to improve water quality and coastal ecosystems. This financial and technical assistance for agricultural producers is part of the new three-year, $328 million restoration effort targeting priority areas in the Gulf of Mexico region following the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.
“With this new strategy, NRCS is emphasizing specific watersheds across Florida’s coastal areas,” said Russell Morgan, Florida NRCS state conservationist.
From now through 2018, NRCS will help agricultural producers plan and implement conservation improvements to 3.2 million acres nationally as part of NRCS’ Gulf of Mexico Initiative (GoMI). The Farm Bill funds conservation programs such as the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP), Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP) and Agricultural Conservation Easement Program (ACEP).
These programs help farmers and ranchers manage nutrients, adopt no-till, plant cover crops and install grade stabilization and water control structures to control pollutants, reduce erosion and improve water use. Modeling from USDA’s Conservation Effects Assessment Project estimates these efforts will prevent 117,000 tons of sediment from running off into coastal waterways and prevent runoff of about 1 million pounds of nitrogen and 200,000 pounds of phosphorus.
From 2010, the year of the spill, to 2015, NRCS has worked with partners at the local, state and federal levels, as well as producers to put long-lasting conservation practices on more than 84 million acres.
Download the GoMI restoration strategy document. For more information, contact your local USDA service center or visit nrcs.usda.gov/gulf.