Chesapeake Bay restoration efforts get $18 million from USDA

Projects to help restore the Chesapeake Bay will be getting more than $18 million from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, part of more than $370 million in competitive conservation grants awarded across the country.

The projects include measures to restore wetlands and forested buffers to reduce nutrient overload in the bay and rewarding farmers for implementing higher-impact conservation practices.

Virginia Sens. Mark Warner and Tim Kaine praised Wednesday's announcement by U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tim Vilsack.

"These bay conservation projects are voluntary and locally driven, and that's a great way to move us closer to achieving the goal of restoring the Chesapeake Bay," Warner said in a statement.

Kaine noted his support for the 2014 farm bill last year, which authorized protections for the bay and other endangered watersheds.

"Agricultural conservation is good for farmers and good for the environment," Kaine said.

The grants are through the USDA Regional Conservation Partnership Program and go to projects over the next two years.

Among the Virginia projects:

•$7 million to reward farmers in Virginia, West Virginia and Pennsylvania for voluntarily adopting "higher-impact" conservation practices;

•$5.5 million to accelerate bay conservation efforts by Virginia, Maryland and Delaware;

•$5 million to improve "high-quality" wetlands and buffers to enhance nutrient management practices in Virginia, Maryland and Delaware; and

•$1.3 million toward efforts to help private forest landowners adopt accepted management practices.

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