The agreement provides funding for expanding participation in voluntary wetland conservation programs to improve the environmental quality of watersheds, particularly in disadvantaged communities, and…

This Cooperative Agreement award from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) under the Regional Wetland Program Development Grants (CFDA 66.461) program provides $352,662 in funding to the Oklahoma Secretary of Energy and Environment. The goal is to expand participation in voluntary wetland conservation programs across Oklahoma, particularly in disadvantaged communities, and restore ecosystem services provided by wetlands. Key activities include conducting surveys of landowners and wetland managers to understand participation motivations and barriers, analyzing the survey data, and developing a final report. The project is expected to run from October 2024 to February 2027 and will involve a sub-award to the Oklahoma Conservation Commission to assist with outreach and engagement efforts. The anticipated deliverables include a quality assurance project plan, participant contact information, survey data, data analyses, and a final report. The project aims to help agencies more effectively market wetland conservation and restoration programs to expand wetland acreage and increase community resilience to climate change impacts in Oklahoma.

The agreement provides funding for expanding participation in voluntary wetland conservation programs to improve the environmental quality of watersheds, particularly in disadvantaged communities, and restore ecosystem services provided by wetlands throughout oklahoma. A critical step to expanding voluntary participation is to understand the motivations, perceptions, and attitudes of landowners that led them to enroll (or not enroll) in conservation programs. The goal is to contact landowners and agency personnel involved with administering voluntary wetland conservation programs (e.g., wetland easement program) to understand landowner participation in these programs such that the state and partners can more effectively recruit potential participants for voluntary wetland restoration programs, expand wetland restoration opportunities in the state, and strengthen public-private partnerships to optimize program funds and enhance conservation outcomes.activities:the activities include: develop quality assurance project plan develop pool of potential participants for surveys conduct surveys of landowners conduct surveys of wetland managers and program administrators analyze survey data develop final reportsubrecipient:the activities include: develop quality assurance project plan develop pool of potential participants for surveys conduct surveys of landowners conduct surveys of wetland managers and program administrators analyze survey data develop final reportoutcomes:the anticipated deliverables include: quality assurance project plan list of potential participants and their contact information data collected from wetland manager and program administrator surveys completed data analyses of participant perceptions, attitudes, and knowledge final report the expected results from this project will allow agencies to more effectively market wetland conservation and restoration programs that will expand wetland acreage in the state and deliver targeted assistance to increase resilience to impacts of climate change for oklahoma communities. The intended beneficiaries include the citizens of the state of oklahoma