Wetland Program Services

• Funding for all phases of wetland and riparian creation, restoration and enhancement
• Funding for conservation easements and fee-title purchase through Division of Wildlife’s Wildlife Habitat Protection Program
• Wildlife and aquatic resource inventories
• Education and outreach
• Project monitoring and evaluation

The Natural Resource Matching Grants Program:

• open to all Colorado Conservation Districts to help them implement private lands on-the-ground conservation projects
• provides 50% state funds towards the costs of such projects
• the district and their partners provide the other 50% of funding

The grant is competitive and a committee of government and private conservation experts rank the applications based on:

• focused approach with measurable outcomes
• conservation impact
• feasibility
• district involvement

• The Community Action for a Renewed Environment (CARE) program is a competitive grant program that offers communities an innovative way to address the risks from multiple sources of toxic pollution in their environment.
• Through CARE various local organizations, including non-profits, businesses, schools and governments create partnerships that implement local solutions to reduce releases of toxic pollutants and minimize people’s exposure to them.
• CARE educates and supports communities by helping them assess the pollution risks they face. We provide access to EPA's and other voluntary programs to address local environmental priorities and improve the environment through local action.
• CARE has provided financial assistance by funding cooperative agreements with communities annually since 2005.

• City and County of Denver
• Groundwork Denver, Inc.
• Citizens for Clean Air in Pueblo
• Garfield County Public Health

• Significant Funding for Nonpoint Source Pollution Control and Estuary Protection—CWSRFs provided more than $240 million in 2007 to control pollution from nonpoint sources and for estuary protection, more than $2.6 billion to date.
• Assistance to a Variety of Borrowers—The CWSRF program has assisted a range of borrowers including municipalities, communities of all sizes, farmers, homeowners, small businesses, and nonprofit organizations.
• Partnerships with Other Funding Sources—CWSRFs partner with banks, nonprofits, local governments, and other federal and state agencies to provide the best water quality financing source for their communities.

Contact the Joint Venture Coordinator in your project area for assistance with developing a project proposal, for information about how proposals are ranked, and/or for guidance on Endangered Species Act, National Environmental Policy Act, and National Historic Preservation Act compliance requirements.

For general program information, contact the Small Grants Program Coordinator, Rodecia Mcknight (rodecia_mcknight@fws.gov), (703) 358-2266, or Lacy Alison (lacy_alison@fws.gov), (703) 358-2552.

• Reduction of non-point source pollution
• Reduction of emissions
• Reduction in soil erosion and sedimentation
• Promotion of at-risk species habitat conservation

• Water Quality – Demonstrate treatment effectiveness and efficiency of removing or reducing selenium and other contaminants in runoff or drainage water using innovative practices.
• Air Quality – Demonstrate and quantify the optimal combinations of nutrient source, application rate, placement, and application timing to help reduce nutrient deposition in Rocky Mountain National Park area.
• Air Quality - Identify barriers to the adoption and implementation of core nutrient reduction practices (avoiding, controlling, and trapping), including nutrient management, and demonstrate solutions and approaches to the barriers. Demonstrate methods to increase adoption of nutrient reduction practices with traditionally low or non-participating producers in high risk areas.
• Soil Health - Development of optimal species mixes, seeding rates and seeding methods to enhance cover crop establishment/survival and increase soil organic matter.
• Soil Health - Demonstrate and quantify the impacts of cover crop presence, species mix, and management (e.g. termination growth stage, tillage practice) on soil water content and subsequent crop yield across a range of climates and cropping systems.

• Form NRCS-CPA-1200, Conservation Program Application
• Form NRCS-LTP-31, Agreement for the Purchase of Conservation Easement
• Form AD-1161, Application for Payment

The goal of NRCS is to achieve the greatest wetland functions and values, along with optimum wildlife habitat, on every acre enrolled in the program.  

Lands eligible for WRP:

• Wetlands farmed under natural conditions
• Farmed wetlands
• Prior converted cropland
• Farmed wetland pasture
• Certain lands that have the potential to become a wetland as a result of flooding
• Rangeland, pasture, or forest production lands where the hydrology has been significantly degraded and can be restored
• Riparian areas that link protected wetlands
• Lands adjacent to protected wetlands that contribute significantly to wetland functions and values
• Wetlands previously restored under a local, State, or Federal Program that need long-term protection

The PEYA program promotes awareness of our nation's natural resources and encourages positive community involvement. Since 1971, the President of the United States has joined with EPA to recognize young people across the U.S. for protecting our nation's air, water, land, and ecology. It is one of the most important ways EPA and the Administration demonstrate commitment to environmental stewardship efforts created and conducted by our nation's young people.

One outstanding project from each region is selected for national recognition. Projects are developed by young individuals, school classes (K-12), summer camps, and youth organizations to promote environmental stewardship. Thousands of young people from all 50 states and the U.S. territories have submitted projects to EPA for consideration. Winning projects in the past have covered a wide range of subject areas, including:

• environmental science projects
• recycling programs in schools and communities
• construction of nature preserves
• major tree planting programs
• videos, skits and newsletters that focused on environmental issues

The Bring Back the Natives program supports conservation activities that restore, protect and enhance native populations of sensitive or listed fish species across the United States, especially on lands on or adjacent to federal agency lands. The partnership provides funding to help implement the goals of the National Fish Habitat Action Plan (www.fishhabitat.org). The program emphasizes coordination between private landowners and federal agencies, tribes, corporations, and states to restore the health of entire watersheds. The end result is on-the-ground restoration, in-stream improvements, and partnerships that benefit aquatic systems and their native fish species throughout the U.S.

Funding priorities for this program include:

• Upper Colorado native fish (flannelmouth and bluehead suckers, roundtail chub, and Colorado cutthroat trout)
• Lahontan cutthroat trout
• Sierra Nevada native fishes
• Apache trout
• Native brook trout and associated native aquatic species (Chesapeake and Upper Ohio River)
• Russian River (CA) Coho
• Klamath suckers, redband trout and Coho
• Southeast native bass
• River Herring
• Other native fish species identified in state, federal, and tribal fish and wildlife agency planning documents (such as the USFS or BLM Aquatic Sensitive Species Lists) and/or by recognized and candidate National Fish Habitat Board Fish Habitat Partnerships organized under the National Fish Habitat Action Plan
• Native fish identified in state Aquatic Invasive Species Management Plans as being at risk from invasive species.