The U.S. Department of Agriculture?s Natural Resource Conservation Service announced in late September that they would be investing $328 million over the next three years to improve water quality and restore coastal ecosystems in the Gulf region. The investments will be directed by the agency?s new restoration strategy and will focus on conservation efforts on 3.2 million acres of private lands. The new strategy will work within the agency?s Gulf of Mexico Initiative and will offer assistance through existing Farm Bill programs including the Environmental Quality Incentives Program, Conservation Stewardship Program, and the Agricultural Conservation Easement Program. Fully implementing the strategy is expected to prevent 117,000 tons of sediment from running into coastal waterways and will prevent runoff of about 1 million pounds of nitrogen and 200,000 pounds of phosphorus.

?We?re working side-by-side with farmers, ranchers, and forest landowners to improve their operations while taking care of natural resources in the region,? said USDA Under Secretary for Natural Resources and Environment Robert Bonnie. ?With most of the land in the region privately owned, working lands on the Gulf Coast are pivotal to the region?s recovery.?