Nature Conservancy to enhance forests and wetlands with new EPA grant

FILE – In this Tuesday, Dec. 11, 2018, file photo, an egret looks for food along Valhalla Pond in Riverview, Fla. The Trump administration was expected to announce completion as soon as Thursday, Jan. 23, 2020, of one of its most momentous environmental rollbacks, removing federal protections for millions of miles of the country’s streams, arroyos and wetlands. (AP Photo/Chris O’Meara, File)

(WCIV) — The Nature Conservancy is set to receive $200 Million from EPA’s Climate Pollution Reduction Grant Program.

The funding is a part of historic $421 Million Multi-State Coalition Grant that will go toward nature-based climate solutions. With the money the group plans to improve forest management, peatland restoration and tidal wetland enhancement.

“In TNC’s 55 years of conserving South Carolina, we’ve seen how our forests can shelter wildlife, protect against flooding, keep our drinking water clean and offer opportunities to get outside,” said Dale Threatt-Taylor, executive director for The Nature Conservatory in South Carolina. “With this investment, these incredible resources have the potential to do even more. The same natural features that make South Carolina a wonderful place to live also can store carbon and lessen climate impacts.”

According to the group, they plan to support significant reductions of carbon emissions across four states: South Carolina, Maryland, North Carolina and Virginia.