USDA Receives Economic Recovery Funding to Restore and Protect Flood-Prone Lands

Note:  The deadline for eligible landowners to sign-up for floodplain easement assistance has been extended to April 10, 2009.

Bangor, ME, March 12, 2009 – The USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) will provide up to $145 million to eligible landowners nationwide through the floodplain easement component of its Emergency Watershed Protection (EWP) Program. The funds will be used to restore an estimated 60,000 acres of frequently-flooded land to its natural state and create jobs, mostly in the engineering, biology and construction fields.

Eligible landowners can sign up for these easements from March 9-27, 2009 at their local USDA Service Center.

“We will be working with landowners who voluntarily agree to restore the floodplains to their natural condition by placing their land into easements,” Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said. “These easements will convert environmentally sensitive lands into riparian corridors and wooded bottomlands that are so vital for fish and wildlife habitat and to mitigate downstream flooding.”

Terrell Erickson, Acting State Conservationist for NRCS in Maine, said that these funds will allow NRCS to purchase easements on lands damaged by flooding. Erickson also said that the restored floodplain can benefit the public through increased flood protection, enhanced fish and wildlife habitat, improved water quality, reduced energy consumption and increased carbon sequestration.

The funding, obtained from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, includes both technical and financial assistance to restore the easements. The goal is to have all floodplain easements acquired and restored within 12-18 months.

EWP Floodplain Easement Site

NRCS Recovery Information
   

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