A Targeted Approach for Natural Resource Concerns in Virginia
Photos by Barbara Bowen (left) and Jeff Nadler.
From the Blue Ridge Mountains to the Chesapeake Bay, Virginia and neighboring states face environmental and natural resource challenges. USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) has adopted a progressive landscape approach to address pressing natural resource concerns — strategically investing federal funds and leveraging partner resources across state lines to implement aggressive conservation practices.
In Virginia, this strategy has resulted in better opportunities for agricultural producers to reduce nutrient and sediment runoff from fields while maintaining or improving production levels, as well as restoring wildlife habitat.
Longleaf Pine Initiative (LPI ) - NRCS and its conservation partners in nine states are helping private landowners improve the sustainability and profitability of Longleaf pine forest ecosystems. Longleaf pine forests represent some of the world’s most biologically diverse ecosystems.
The Longleaf pine ecosystem provides critical habitat for 29 threatened and endangered species. Important conservation practices such as forest stand improvement, prescribed burning, restoration and management of rare or declining habitats, and tree/shrub establishment improve forests’ health.
