Government Allocates $32 Million for Wetlands

The U.S. Department of Agriculture is to spend $32 million this year on wetland preservation and restoration projects in Kentucky and six other states along the Mississippi River. 

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced Tuesday that the biggest of the projects will devote $20 million to hardwood bottomland restoration along the Mississippi River between Wickliffe, Kentucky and Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The targeted areas will be between the river's edge and the levee, rich land that floods regularly and can support a variety of wildlife. The program involves enlisting landowners who will allow work on their privately held land.