White and Lower Wabash River Wetland Reserve Enhancement Partnership
The Wabash River, the largest tributary of the Ohio River, is the Eastern border for White County, Illinois. The Wetland Reserve Enhancement Project, or WREP, is restoring wetlands along the Wabash River.
Restoring these wetlands along The Wabash, with special emphasis on the lower Wabash region, reduces flood risk, provides important habitat for migrating bird species, important pollinators, and threatened or endangered wildlife, helps with control of noxious weeds like stinging nettle, improves water quality along the Wabash, and more. Species such as Wood Ducks, Mallards, Hellbender Salamanders, White Tailed Deer, River Otters, Monarch Butterflies, Sandpipers, and Channel Catfish will benefit from these habitats. This also leads to more recreational use of the land, like hiking trails, fishing, or even hunting.
This project is looking to enroll acres in wetland easements. This project buys easements on land to remove them from agricultural production and restore them to native habitat. Frequent flooding along the Wabash River damages farmland and private property. Restoring the wetland habitat reduces the amount of damage done to these critical areas.
White County SWCD is partnering with the Agricultural Conservation Easement Program of the Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS) and The Nature Conservancy of Indiana to help these areas and people. Oxbows in Illinois special project areas of White, Gallatin, Edwards and Wabash Counties may be eligible.
For application assistance, questions or more information please contact Heidi Uselton, White County SWCD Resource Conservationist (382-2213, Ext. 112) or Jewel Brooks, Administrative Coordinator, (Ext. 101)