USDA invests $130 million with partners to restore Sierra-Cascade California Headwaters

The US Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Forest Service and Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) will invest $130 million in a partnership to conserve and restore the Sierra-Cascade California Headwaters, which provide much of the water for irrigated agriculture in the Sacramento and San Joaquin Valleys.

The partnership includes the Interior Department, the state of California, non-profits and private landowners. In total, the partnership will yield a minimum investment of $210 million by all partners, according to a press release.

“As several years of historic drought continue to plague parts of the Western United States, there is a significant opportunity and responsibility across federal, state and private lands to protect and improve the landscapes that generate our most critical water supplies,” agriculture secretary Tom Vilsack said in a statement.

“Healthy forests and meadows play a key role in ensuring water quality, yield and reliability throughout the year. Looking beyond this particular drought, resources announced today will help us add resiliency to natural resource systems to cope with recurring drought and changing climate patterns.”