WETLANDS RESERVE PROGRAM (WRP)
2013 general WRP enrollment was 1,818 acres. WRP helps landowners restore wetlands on agricultural and non-agricultural lands. Restored wetlands provide wildlife habitat for migratory birds, threatened and endangered species, and other wetland wildlife. To date, 1,060 easements have been funded statewide encompassing 146,593 acres. In 2013, restoration was completed on 40 easements covering 7,626 acres.
WILDLIFE HABITAT INCENTIVES PROGRAM (WHIP)
The Wildlife Habitat Incentives Program (WHIP) promoted the establishment and management of fish and wildlife habitat. It provided financial and technical assistance on private agricultural land, nonindustrial private forestland and Indian land to assist eligible participants develop habitat. Eligible Missouri applicants received $533,556 in WHIP financial assistance in Fiscal Year 2013, funding 63 of the 81 eligible WHIP applications. WHIP financial assistance helps producers install conservation practices that establish, improve, protect, enhance, or restore the land to improve conditions for fish and wildlife. 7
MISSISSIPPI RIVER BASIN HEALTHY WATERSHEDS INITIATIVE (MRBI)
The objective of MRBI is to improve the health of the Mississippi River Basin, including water quality and wildlife habitat. Through this initiative, NRCS and its partners help producers in selected watersheds in the Mississippi River Basin voluntarily implement conservation practices and systems that avoid, control, and trap nutrient runoff; improve wildlife habitat; and maintain agricultural productivity. Furthermore, the initiative is intended to address nutrient loading in the Mississippi River Basin. Nutrient loading contributes to both local water quality problems and the hypoxic zone in the Gulf of Mexico. Missouri NRCS (working with Soil and Water Conservation District sponsors) entered into 290 additional Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) contracts totaling $9.7 million in obligations. These new contracts, encompassing 31,824 acres of agricultural land, will help to address water quality within the Mississippi River Basin and are located in 22 project areas.
31,824: Acres of Missouri agricultural land in MRBI