农业部投超3.25亿美元于42个自然保护项目：艾奥瓦州牛业与耕地项目领衔，覆盖30万英亩覆土作物
美国农业部（USDA）10月26日在艾奥瓦州锡达拉皮兹宣布，通过「区域保护伙伴计划」（RCPP）投资超过3.25亿美元、支持42个项目，帮助全美农民、牧场主与林地主提升经营并保护自然资源。农业部长布鲁克·罗林斯表示，RCPP以私人投资搭配联邦资金，在改善农田的同时赋予地方伙伴更大灵活性。
其中，艾奥瓦州的「牛业与保护性耕地计划」将在该州西部与中部推广覆土作物、牧草与生物质种植及供水系统，预计种植超过30万英亩覆土作物，减少约330万磅氮、33.6万磅磷流失与100万吨土壤流失。艾奥瓦州农业厅长迈克·奈格表示，该计划源自2016年泰勒县的试点，如今已成为其他州的范本。
其余示例项目包括佐治亚州西南部的长叶松林地保护（至少6,000英亩、16个县）、德州海岸大草原保护地役权项目，以及由卢米族与努克萨克部落主导的华盛顿州努克萨克流域鲑鱼栖息地修复（256英亩）。自然资源保护局局长科尔顿·巴克利表示，今年3.25亿美元中75%将直接到达农民手中或用于落实保护措施；该资金机会包含3,000万美元的部落项目专款。
USDA Invests Over $325 Million in 42 Conservation Projects Through Regional Partnership Program
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, on October 26 an investment of over $325 million in 42 projects through the Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP), to help farmers, ranchers and forest landowners boost their operations and conserve natural resources. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said RCPP pairs private investment with federal funds and has recently been streamlined to reduce red tape and increase flexibility for local partners.
In Iowa, the Cattle and Conservation Working Lands Program will integrate cover crops, forage and biomass plantings and watering systems across western and central Iowa, planting over 300,000 acres of cover crops and delivering reductions of roughly 3.3 million pounds of nitrogen, 336,000 pounds of phosphorus and 1 million tons of soil loss. Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig noted the program began as a 2016 pilot in Taylor County and has become a model for other states.
Other projects include longleaf pine forest conservation across 16 counties in southwest Georgia (at least 6,000 acres), coastal tallgrass prairie easements on the Texas Gulf Coast, and Nooksack River salmon habitat restoration in Washington led by the Lummi Nation and the Nooksack Indian Tribe across 256 acres. Natural Resources Conservation Service Chief Colton L. Buckley said 75 percent of this year's $325 million goes directly to farmers or to implementing conservation practices, and that the funding round included a $30 million set-aside for projects with Indian Tribes.
来源：GSM·美国（原文链接）
图片来源：艾奥瓦州农田。图片：维基共享资源，开放授权。
