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USDA invests in wetland mitigation projects

USDA has awarded $4.7 million in grants for the Wetland Mitigation Banking Program to restore and protect wetlands. Projects in Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, South Dakota and Wisconsin received grants. South Dakota Farm Bureau Executive Director Krystil Smit says once established, wetland mitigation banks provide credits sold to other ag landowners.

“These are for farmers who may be out of compliance with a farm program, perhaps they drained an area they weren’t supposed to drain. Or perhaps they want to do some drainage and they need credits to offset the environmental impact of that.”

South Dakota Farm Bureau received a grant under $1 million. Smit says there is a big demand for wetland mitigation credits in South Dakota and this USDA funding will establish a new bank site in the central and eastern parts of the state.

The program helps farmers comply with wetland conservation provisions and conserve wetlands. Since the NRCS awarded the first grants in 2016, 31 wetland bank sites have been established through the program across the Midwest.

SDFB is looking for rural landowners to host a wetland. Apply here.

Photo credit: South Dakota Farm Bureau