USDA is investing nearly $19 million in a conservation project led by Ducks Unlimited in southern Illinois, according to a post from FarmWeekNow.com.

Ducks Unlimited will lead the project to help farmers in targeted southern Illinois watersheds reduce the amount of sediment moving through the watersheds and deposited in critical downstream aquatic habitats.

The funding is part of a $1.5 billion USDA investment targeting 92 conservation projects through the Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP), a partner-driven approach to conservation that funds solutions to natural resource challenges on agricultural land. Partners will provide $968 million in contributions to amplify the impact of the federal investment. Selected RCPP projects will help farmers, ranchers and forest landowners adopt and expand voluntary, locally led conservation strategies to enhance natural resources.

The Illinois project, "Reducing Sedimentation to Improve Southern Illinois Aquatic Habitats," is centered around the Mississippi River Basin with a goal to restore an anticipated 130 acres of wetlands and 977 acres of native vegetation buffers and implement 48,865 acres of no-till cover crops to reduce nitrogen and phosphorus runoff and sequester carbon.

"The grants funded through RCPP will support farmers and ranchers by making their operations more sustainable while improving habitat for waterfowl and other wildlife," Ducks Unlimited CEO Adam Putnam said in a press release.

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