Advancing Watershed Protection Through Land Conservation
Land conservation, including the protection and stewardship of lands, can play a central role in efforts to protect healthy waters and maintain healthy watersheds. For example, protecting natural areas such as forests, riparian areas and wetlands helps maintain the critical functions these areas provide in filtering pollution across the landscape. Land conservation can also be a critical component of strategies to restore impaired (i.e., degraded) waters.
The resources below highlight opportunities for integrating land conservation within the EPA's Clean Water Act and Safe Drinking Water Act programs. These resources are also listed on the Watershed Protection Projects By State and Region page, which contains an interactive table of reports, datasets, tools, initiatives and other resources relevant to healthy watersheds assessment and protection.
EPA Watershed Protection Guide for Land Trusts
Advancing Watershed Protection Through Land Conservation: A Guide for Land Trusts (pdf)
This resource guide is intended to serve as a starting point for land trust staff unfamiliar with the Clean Water Act and EPA programs, but whose organizations are interested in integrating water quality protection in their efforts to conserve and steward lands and conduct community outreach. This guide covers fundamental topics such as key watershed terms, the watershed approach, EPA water programs and sources of funding for land conservation projects, prioritizing lands and stewardship actions for water quality protection, and communication tools. It also includes the following real-life examples of water-centric work pursued by land trusts (*four of whom were Healthy Watershed Consortium grantees):
- Kennebec Estuary Land Trust (Maine) - Engaging Communities Through Citizen Monitoring
- Central Lake Erie Basin Collaborative* (Ohio) - Partnering Across Boundaries to Protect Lake Erie
- Arizona Land and Water Trust* (Arizona) - Prioritizing Land Conservation to Protect Rivers and Aquifers
- Feather River Land Trust* (California) - Stewardship Through Adaptive Land Management
- Alachua Conservation Trust* (Florida) - Communicating Watershed Protection Messages
EPA Funding Eligibility Fact Sheets
Clean Water Act Section 319 - Nonpoint Source Program
This fact sheet, published in 2024, provides background information, resources, and 'Getting Started Tips' for CWA Section 319 Program staff who aim to incorporate land protection strategies in their program activities.
Clean Water State Revolving Fund (CWSRF)
Funding Land Conservation Projects with the Clean Water State Revolving Fund (2018)
Drinking Water State Revolving Fund (DWSRF)
Protecting Source Water with the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund Set-Asides (2019)
Other Land Conservation-Related Resources
Wetlands and Stream Mitigation: A Handbook for Land Trusts (2012)