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Sonoma County is receiving an $8 million grant from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) as a means of protecting agricultural lands and ecosystems for drought and climate resiliency. The USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service’s (NRCS) Regional Conservation Partnership Program funds the grant.
The funding will be used to purchase conservation easements from users as a means of recharging groundwater basins.
Sonoma County Agricultural Preservation & Open Space District is teaming with the Sonoma Resource Conservation District, Gold Ridge Resource Conservation District, Sonoma County Water Agency and Pepperwood Dwight Center for Conservation Sciences.
“This grant recognizes the importance of agriculture to our economy and way of life. It also demonstrates that farming and natural resource protection are not mutually exclusive. Healthy agriculture land can help replenish groundwater aquifers and improve water quality,” Kara Heckert, executive director of the Sonoma Resource Conservation District said in a statement.
Conservation easement will:
- Support groundwater recharge
- Support habitat for at-rick plant and animal species
- Capture flood waters
- Provide flexibility for climate adoption
