Nearly 3,000 acres of wetland habitat along Texas’ Gulf coast will be improved through a grant from Ducks Unlimited and state partnerships, including with the Coastal Conservation Association and Texas Parks & Wildlife Department.
Grants totaling $21 million were given to 21 projects in 16 states through the North American Wetlands Conservation Act U.S. Standard Grants program. Partners will match this support with $50 million in leveraged funds, according to a news release.
Counties included in the effort are Aransas, Austin, Bee, Brazoria, Brooks, Calhoun, Cameron, Chambers, Colorado, Fort Bend, Galveston, Goliad, Harris, Hidalgo, Jackson, Jefferson, Kenedy, Kleberg, Lavaca, Liberty, Matagorda, Nueces, Orange, Refugio, San Patricio, Starr, Victoria, Waller, Wharton and Willacy.
The project will restore and enhance 2,612 acres of wetland and upland habitat, including seasonally flooded rice fields on public and private lands. Working with landowners to compensate for the region’s continued loss of marsh and wet prairies, partners will enhance foraging, water quality, flood storage, and soil conservation throughout the project area. The work will benefit more than 304 bird species including mottled ducks, northern pintails, mallards and and Canada geese.
Click here for additional details about these projects.
