Important forest and wetland habitats in the Lower Mississippi Alluvial Valley will be improved, restored, and expanded thanks to $1.2 million in funds from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF). A total conservation impact of $2.4 million will arise from the grants and the recipients’ matching contributions of $1.2 million.
The Natural Resources Conservation Service of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, International Paper’s Forestland Stewards Partnership, and the Walton Family Foundation have joined forces to create the Lower Mississippi Alluvial Valley Restoration Fund (LMAV Fund).
By planting trees on inundated cropland, the initiatives will create new bottomland hardwood forests, improve the habitat of existing woods, and improve wetland hydrologic function by repairing or putting in place water control structures. By cutting notches into dikes for fish passage and building and installing woody debris traps in previously connected secondary channels, the initiatives will help increase the connectivity and quality of aquatic habitat along the Mississippi River.
The biggest wetland environment in the country, the Mississippi Alluvial Valley, spans 24 million acres across the states of Arkansas, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, and Tennessee. Programs that repair, restore, and expand existing bottomland hardwood forests and wetlands help over 100 breeding land birds and other species that depend on forested wetlands.
For aquatic species like the Alligator Gar, which require access to the floodplain and river for various stages of their life cycle, the fund also works to enhance water quality and restore connections in aquatic habitats.
