Press Releases

Congresswoman Chellie Pingree (D-Maine) today announced USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) has awarded The Nature Conservancy a grant of $6,999,768 as a part of the Regional Conservation Partnership Program. 

“Through nature-based solutions, we can mitigate the climate crisis and protect Maine’s natural resources. The Nature Conservancy is a great partner in this effort, and their project will improve and restore Maine’s unique aquatic habitats,” said Pingree. “The Natural Resources Conservation Service is doing critically important work to help farmers and forest landowners build climate resilience and protect our soil, water, air, and wildlife habitat, and that’s why I have always championed their work in past Farm Bills.”

The project, Watershed Approach to Restoring Stream Systems, proposes to restore some of Maine’s highest value aquatic networks from fragmentation and degradation by improving roadstream crossings. The Nature Conservancy will use an innovative Stream Smart design and installation approach to improve habitat and aquatic organism passage and reduce impacts from increasingly volatile storm flows. With over 11 million acres of Maine forest in private hands, this project will influence stream-friendly management on thousands of miles of aquatic habitat and spur innovations and efficiencies to influence restoration even more broadly as project partners share the lessons learned.

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