Partnership Between Minnesota and USDA will Restore Wetlands

Minnesota has become the second state in the nation to participate in the USDA’s Wetlands Reserve Enhancement Program (WREP). Through Minnesota’s WREP plan, the state of Minnesota will provide $1.2 million and USDA will provide $2.8 million. The state portion of the funding will come from funds previously appropriated by the legislature to the Board of Soil and Water Resources (BWSR) for the Reinvest in Minnesota (RIM) Reserve program, which focuses on habitat restoration and protection, water quality enhancement, and water retention and storage.

The targeted restoration funds will focus on approximately 7,250 acres throughout Minnesota. Goals and regions include:

3,000 acres in the five Presidential Declared Flood Disaster Counties of Dodge, Faribault, Freeborn, Mower, and Steele counties in southern Minnesota;
1,750 acres along the Red River of the North main stem;
1,500 acres in the Buffalo-Red River Watershed in the northwestern; and,
1,000 acres in the Grand Marais Creek Sub watershed in northwestern Minnesota.

WREP is administered through a partnership between NRCS and the BWSR. The program provides a voluntary opportunity for landowners to receive both financial and technical assistance to restore wetlands and increase wildlife habitat. Wetlands provide fish and wildlife habitat, act as a water quality filter, reduce flooding, recharge groundwater, and provide educational or recreational opportunities. WRP is a voluntary program that offers landowners the option of permanent easements, 30-year easements and restoration cost-share agreements to protect, restore or enhance wetlands on their property.

Additional information is available at: http://www.nrcs.usda.gov or at http://www.governor.state.mn.us