HELPING LANDOWNERS
The Conservation Finance Center helps landowners determine the ecological and financial benefits of conservation programs and incentives for different types of land.
Restoring Lower Mississippi River Bottomland Hardwood Forests
The Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), working with the Mississippi River Trust and Lower Mississippi River Conservation Committee through the Wetland Reserve Enhancement Partnership (WREP) program, is offering reforestation incentives to private landowners in the largest U.S. river’s floodplain or batture.
Reforestation of these batture lands will lessen the amount of excess nutrients entering the river and the Gulf of Mexico; reduce flooding of farmland; save taxpayer dollars in the form of avoided commodity, disaster assistance, and crop insurance payments; increase carbon sequestration; expand habitat for black bears, migratory birds, white-tailed deer, and other wildlife; help protect levees and navigation infrastructure; and increase opportunities for outdoor recreation.
BENEFITS ESTIMATORS
Calculate the income and tax implications of continuing current land uses vs. enrolling land in the Conservation Reserve Program or in a Wetland Reserve Easement
PARTNERSHIP
The Conservation Finance Center is a joint effort between Wildlife Mississippi, the Mississippi Land Trust, the Mississippi River Trust, The Carbon Fund, and the Black Landowners Agricultural and Conservation Land Trust.
