The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) has announced grants totaling $1.2 million in support of forest, wetland, and stream habitat restoration to benefit native species in Arkansas, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, and Tennessee.

Awarded through the Lower Mississippi Alluvial Valley Restoration Fund, a public-private partnership between NFWF and the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, International Paper’s Forestland Stewards Partnership, and the Walton Family Foundation, the grants will support projects within the Lower Mississippi Alluvial Valley, the largest wetland ecosystem in the United States, which covers 24 million acres. Recipients include National Wild Turkey Federation, the KKAC Organization, Ducks Unlimited, the Mississippi River Trust, and the Lower Mississippi River Conservation Committee for projects that will collectively plant more than 3.1 million bottomland hardwood seedlings, improve hydrology—the timing and extent of soil saturation—on 10,000 acres of wetlands, and enhance 5,000 acres of existing hardwood forest with wildlife-friendly treatments, all of which will help improve habitats for more than 100 breeding land birds and other forested wetland-dependent species.

“These five projects will build on current restoration efforts within the Lower Mississippi Alluvial Valley and help further expand and enhance forested wetland habitats and improve aquatic habitat connectivity within the nation’s largest floodplain,” said NFWF executive director and CEO Jeff Trandahl. “These projects will not only help fish and wildlife species but will also benefit local communities and landowners by reducing flooding, sequestering carbon, and enhancing hunting and fishing opportunities.” 

(Photo credit: Getty Images/Boogich)