Senator Stabenow announces $5,702,452 Investment to Improve Water Quality and Farmland in Gladwin and Midland Counties

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich), Chairwoman of the U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry, today announced a new $5,702,452 investment, which will be matched by private investments, to improve water quality and farmland along the Tittabawassee River. This innovative new partnership is one of three projects in Michigan made possible by the Farm Bill’s Regional Conservation Partnership Program, authored by Stabenow.

“Bringing together local leaders to work with farmers on the ground will improve water quality in our rivers and streams and protect farmland in Gladwin and Midland Counties,” said Senator Stabenow. “This new partnership will build on historic investments in land and water conservation already made across the state that are protecting our Great Lakes and creating new opportunities for hunting, fishing and outdoor recreation.”

The project, led by Gladwin County, will bring together five local partners to work with landowners to improve water quality by helping farmers plant cover crops. These conservation practices and the sustainable management of cropland keep carbon in the soil and are an important part of the solution to the climate crisis facing our country. The project will take place in Gladwin and Midland counties.

Stabenow created the Regional Conservation Partnership Program in the bipartisan 2014 Farm Bill to form locally led partnerships between agriculture and conservation groups to preserve land and water, improve hunting and fishing, and protect the Great Lakes. These local projects leverage private and public dollars to bring together partners to address regional conservation issues. Eleven Michigan projects have already received $130 million in funding from the Farm Bill’s Regional Conservation Partnership Program. Three additional projects totaling over $16 million were added in this latest round of funding.

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