Federal Conservation Agency Conducting Statewide Sign-Up for the Wetlands Reserve Program

James E. Tillman, Sr., State Conservationist for the USDA- Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) in Georgia has announced that the NRCS has opened the application period for applications for financial assistance through the USDA Wetlands Reserve Program (WRP). The application period to receive consideration for 2011 WRP funds runs until December 10, 2010.

“Farmers and landowners interested in protecting, restoring or enhancing wetland habitat should contact their local office of the Natural Resources Conservation Service”, said Tillman.

Applications received in NRCS offices will be evaluated and ranked according to levels of environmental benefits pending available funds. Although NRCS offers a continuous application period for WRP, applications must be received by December 3, 2010 for FY 2011 funding.
Applications received after December 3, 2010 will be deferred to the next funding cycle.

"WRP is an important conservation program because it protects and restores wetland habitat that was lost due to intensive farming and urbanization. Georgia has enjoyed tremendous success during our previous enrollment periods by assisting landowners in installing wetland conservation practices. In 2010, we provided over $5,000,000 in funds to farmers that allowed us to secure conservation easements on over 3,394 wetland acres in Georgia,” Tillman said. Since 1999, NRCS Georgia has enrolled over 21,000 acres into WRP.

Participants in WRP voluntarily limit future use of the land, but retain private ownership. Landowners benefit by receiving financial and technical assistance in return for protecting wetlands, reducing problems associated with farming potentially wet and difficult areas, and developing wildlife and recreational opportunities on their land.

Wetlands benefit the Nation by providing fish and wildlife habitat; improving water quality by filtering sediments and chemicals; reducing flooding; recharging groundwater; protecting biological diversity; as well as providing opportunities for educational, scientific, and recreational activities.

The program offers three enrollment options:
1. Permanent Easements: a conservation easement in perpetuity. USDA pays 100 percent of the easement value and 100 percent of the restoration costs.
2. 30-Year Easement: an easement that expires after 30 years. USDA pays up to 75 percent of the easement value and up to 75 percent of the restoration costs.
*For both permanent and 30-year easements, USDA pays all costs associated with recording the easement.
3. Restoration Cost-Share Agreement: an agreement to restore or enhance the wetland
functions and values without placing an easement on the enrolled acres. USDA pays up to 75 percent of the restoration costs.

No easement shall be created on land that has changed ownership during the preceding 7 years. Eligible acres are limited to private and Tribal lands.

“NRCS and its partners continue to provide assistance to landowners after completion of restoration activities,” said Tillman. “This assistance may be in the form of reviewing restoration measures, clarifying technical and administrative aspects of the easement and project management needs, and providing basic biological and engineering advice on how to achieve optimum results for wetland dependent species,” he added.

NRCS is USDA’s lead conservation agency and has worked hand-in-hand with farmers and landowners for 75 years to conserve natural resources on private lands. Georgia landowners can learn more about conserving natural resources by contacting NRCS Georgia through USDA Service Centers or by visiting the NRCS Georgia homepage at www.ga.nrcs.usda.gov.

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Five Star Program Awards Nine Wetland Restoration Grants

/PRNewswir/ -- Southern Company (NYSE:SO) , the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, the National Association of Counties and the Wildlife Habitat Council today (July 26)  announced that nine new wetland, riparian and coastal conservation grants have been awarded in the Southeast through the Five Star Restoration Program.

This year, Southern Company provided $238,303 in grants and, combined with partner matching funds, a total of more than $1,458,000 to restore more than 21 wetland acres and 4,019 feet of riparian buffer across nine projects in Alabama, Georgia, and Mississippi. Cumulatively, since 2006, Southern Company has contributed $1,058,513 through 50 grants across its service area, which will result in an on-the-ground conservation impact of $3.58 million to restore more than 10,000 acres of wetlands and nearly 50,000 feet of riparian buffer in the Southeast.

"EPA's Five Star Restoration Grants support community-based projects, including environmental education and training in order to make a significant contribution to the environmental landscape," said Stan Meiburg, EPA acting regional administrator. "This program is an excellent opportunity for citizens to not only understand the importance of healthy aquatic ecosystems, but to become better stewards of their environment."

"Five Star is possible because of a unique collaboration with our public, private and corporate funders," said Jeff Trandahl, executive director of NFWF. "Because of their generous contributions, these community-based habitat restoration projects not only provide immediate benefits to fish and wildlife but also help to build a local environmental stewardship ethic."

The Five Star Restoration Program is a national initiative providing financial and technical support to wetland, riparian and coastal habitat restoration projects. It brings together diverse partnerships of citizen groups, corporations, students, landowners, youth conservations corps and local, state and federal government agencies to foster local natural resource stewardship through education, outreach and training activities. Beginning in 2006, Southern Company pledged $1.92 million over eight years to fund community-based, wetland and streamside restoration across its four-state service territory. Additionally, Southern Company and its four operating companies - Alabama Power, Georgia Power, Gulf Power, and Mississippi Power - collaborate with the program partners to select the projects each year and works with many of the grantees to provide additional training and capacity-building support.

"As the Southern region lead corporate sponsor of Five Star Restoration, Southern Company is in the fifth year of our eight-year commitment of matching funds for projects in our region and we're proud of the progress that's been made," said Chris Hobson, chief environmental officer for Southern Company. "These grassroots efforts make a significant contribution to our environmental landscape and to the understanding of the importance of healthy wetlands, streams and coastal environments in our communities."

The following organizations have been awarded Five Star grants in 2010:

In Alabama:

-- The Freshwater Land Trust will remove approximately 1.5 acres of
invasive Chinese Privet from Tapawingo Springs, a former thriving
wetland and bottomland ecosystem, and re-plant the area with
approximately 1,500 native bottomland species and flowering plants.
The goal is to create a haven not only for the Watercress Darter but
also for songbirds and other wildlife. Partners include the Whole
Foods Team Leadership Program, Society to Advance Resources at Turkey
Creek (START)/Pinson Boy Scouts of America, Freshwater Land Trust Land
Steward, Southern Environmental Center; Turkey Creek Nature Preserve,
as well as Samford University and Birmingham Southern College Biology
Departments

-- The Freshwater Land Trust will construct and maintain a trail system
along the Village Creek head waters that will include invasive plant
removal, wetland enhancement, and bioswale construction. Invasive
plants, such as privet, will be removed and a pervious walkway will be
installed. Educational signage will be added, and the Southern
Environmental Center, Jefferson County Health Department and the
Freshwater Land Trust will offer public tours. This project will be
implemented in partnership with the Freshwater Land Trust, Jefferson
County Department of Health, the Southern Environmental Center,
Birmingham-Southern College and the Champions for Village Creek
Greenway.

In Georgia:

-- Keep Rome Floyd Beautiful - City of Rome, Georgia will restore 80
linear feet of eroding stream bank, provide hands-on education
promoting wildlife preservation and stream buffer protection, and
establish a permanent water monitoring site. Partners on the project
include The ECO River Education Center, the City of Rome, Georgia Boys
and Girl Scouts of America, University of Georgia's Floyd County
Cooperative Extension, Georgia Northwestern Technical College,
Darlington School, Evans Construction Company, Georgia Power, Coosa
River Basin Initiative, The Nature Conservancy and the Citizens of
Georgia Power Company-Rome Chapter.

-- DeKalb County will work with project partners to clear trash and
debris from a headwater stream. Stream banks will be replanted to
improve water quality and habitat. Environmental education will be
offered to seven local schools. Project partners include DeKalb
County, Museum School of Avondale Estates, White Oak Hills
Neighborhood Association, Healthy Belvedere and Avondale High School.

-- Trees Atlanta will restore and stabilize an eroded 400 feet of Clear
Creek along the Atlanta BeltLine Arboretum by planting native riparian
species. This will include the treatment and removal of invasive
exotic plant species. Project partners include Atlanta Audubon
Society, BeltLine Partnership, Atlanta Public Schools, Ansley Mall,
Ansley Square, Park Pride, Georgia Power, Ansley Park Neighborhood,
Morningside Neighborhood Midtown Neighborhood Association, Upper
Chattahoochee Riverkeeper and HGOR Landscape Architects.

-- Piedmont Park Conservancy will restore a 3.4-acre wetland, including
unearthing six streams that comprise headwaters of Clear Creek. The
project creates a rare wetland habitat in the center of Atlanta. The
project will also result in the addition of amenities including paths
and boardwalks allowing for public visitation of the wetlands and the
creation of a field study site including interpretive signage for
passive learning as well as environmental education curriculum to
serve students and community groups. Project partners include
Aquascape Environmental, Arborguard Tree Specialists, Arthur M. Blank
Family Foundation, Atlanta Audubon Society, BEST Academy, Brasfield &
Gorrie, City of Atlanta, Department of Parks and Recreation and
Department of Watershed Management, Georgia Tech, Grady High School;
Kimley-Horn and Associates and the Silverman Construction Program
Management.

-- Ducks Unlimited will enhance a 7-acre wetland at the Arrowhead
Wildlife Management Area in Floyd County that will be managed for
waterfowl while providing long-term outdoor education. Volunteers from
several local groups and organizations will benefit from personal
interaction via designated community work days that will incorporate
hands-on conservation and restoration activities. Project partners
include J. Supply Company, Vellano Bros., Inc., Kerry Brown, Hugh
Glidewell, Sunbelt Turf Farms, Neely Raper Lumber, Ducks Unlimited,
Inc. and the Georgia Department of Natural Resources.

In Mississippi:

-- Mississippi State University will partner to enhance 7.5 acres of
partially filled and culverted wetlands of Bayou Auguste in the urban
neighborhood of East Biloxi, Mississippi. Residents and public
agencies have identified restoring urban bayous as important for flood
protection and ecological health. The partnership will coordinate
debris and invasive species removal, marsh grass propagation and
planting and stream bank reshaping to improve the Bayou's water
quality and retention capacity, habitat function, biodiversity and
visual appeal. Mississippi State will work with the following
organizations to implement this project: the Land Trust for the
Mississippi Coastal Plain, Biloxi Housing Authority, Biloxi Public
Schools, and the City of Biloxi.

-- Mississippi Fish and Wildlife Foundation will implement the Cumbest
Bluff Restoration Project, a 200-acre tract of hardwoods, bogs and
cypress swamp located just east of the lower Pascagoula River in
Jackson County, Mississippi. This gifted property will allow the
Mississippi Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks Foundation through its
partnership alliances to restore and monitor the area's unique
ecological balance and allow the educational community complete access
for study. Mississippi Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks Foundation;
Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks; Mississippi
State University; Mississippi Power; Deviney Construction; and D&C
Limited Investments, LLC, will work with the Mississippi Fish and
Wildlife Foundation to carry out this project.

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Shifts In Soil Bacteria Linked to Wetland Restoration Success

A new study led by Duke University researchers finds that restoring degraded wetlands -- especially those that had been converted into farm fields -- actually decreases their soil bacterial diversity.

But that’s a good thing, say the study’s authors, because it marks a return to the wetland soils’ natural conditions.

“It sounds counter-intuitive, but our study shows that in restored wetlands, decreased soil bacterial diversity represents a return to biological health,” said Wyatt H. Hartman, a Ph.D. candidate in wetlands and environmental microbiology at Duke’s Nicholas School of the Environment.

“Our findings are novel because they are the opposite of the response seen in terrestrial ecosystems, where restoration improves conditions from a more barren, degraded state,” said Curtis J. Richardson, director of the Duke University Wetland Center and professor of resource ecology at the Nicholas School. Richardson is Hartman’s faculty adviser.

Their report on the study will be published online this week by Friday in The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Soils in undisturbed wetlands present harsh conditions, with elevated acidity and low oxygen and nutrient availability in which fewer bacterial groups can survive and grow, they explained. In comparison, former wetlands that have been drained, limed and fertilized for farming host greater soil bacterial diversity because they present conditions more suitable for bacterial growth.

“The bacterial communities in these fields almost resemble those found in wastewater treatment plants,” Hartman noted.

Soil bacteria are essential to wetland functions that are critical to environmental quality, such as filtering nutrients and storing carbon. “The mixture of bacterial groups in wetland soils can reflect the status of wetland functioning, and the composition of these populations is as telling as their diversity,” Richardson said.

Measuring whether the right mix of bacteria is returning to a restored wetland can be a valuable biological indicator scientists can use to evaluate restoration success, he added.

“We found that one of the simplest and most promising indicators of restoration success was the ratio of Proteobacteria, which have the highest affinity for nutrient-rich environments, to Acidobacteria, which have the highest tolerance for poor conditions,” Hartman said.

The researchers determined soil bacterial composition and diversity within restored wetlands, agricultural fields and undisturbed wetlands across North Carolina's coastal plain. They sampled these paired land-use categories across three distinct types of wetlands: pocosin bogs, floodplain swamps and backwater swamps that were not connected to streams.

Samples were also taken from sections of the Everglades, the largest wetland in the United States, where a $10.9 billion effort is now underway to remediate the effects of agricultural runoff.

“We identified bacterial groups by their evolutionary relationships, which were determined by sequencing DNA extracted from soils,” Hartman said. “This approach allowed us to capture a much greater diversity of bacteria than would be possible using conventional laboratory culturing, which works for only a small fraction of the 10,000 to 1 million species of bacteria that can be found in a single cubic centimeter of soil.”

Previously, researchers have used genetic techniques to target known organisms or bacterial groups in wetland soils, he said. “But this study is unique in that we used these methods to capture the full range of bacterial groups present, and determine how their composition shifts with land-use changes and restoration.”

“These types of findings can only be obtained in studies done on sites that have been restored and studied over a number of years and assessed with these modern techniques,” Richardson said.

Wetlands filter and reduce nutrients and pollutants from agricultural and urban runoff as well as improve water quality and store around 25 percent of the world’s soil carbon, while covering only 4 to 6 percent of its land mass.

More than half of original wetland acreage in the U.S. has been destroyed or degraded, but some has been restored in recent decades under the federal government’s “no net loss” policy.

“Re-establishment of microbial communities indicates a restoration of the biological functions of soils. This study across a wide range of wetlands is the first to establish that shifts in soil bacteria populations may be a key marker of restoration success,” Richardson said.

Rytas Vilgalys, professor of biology at Duke, and Gregory L. Bruland, assistant professor of soil and water conservation at the University of Hawaii at Manoa, were co-authors on the report. Bruland received his Ph.D. from the Nicholas School in 2004; Richardson was his faculty adviser.

The study was funded by a Duke University Wetland Center Case Studies Endowment and a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship.

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