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  2. Healthy Watersheds Protection
  3. Watershed Protection

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. See below for resources highlighting opportunities for integrating land conservation within the EPA's Clean Water Act and Safe Drinking Water Act programs.

EPA Watershed Protection Guide for Land Trusts

Advancing Watershed Protection Through Land Conservation: A Guide for Land Trusts (pdf) (3.46 MB, July 5, 2022, 841-B-22-003)

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): 

  1. Kennebec Estuary Land Trust (Maine) - Engaging Communities Through Citizen Monitoring
  2. Central Lake Erie Basin Collaborative* (Ohio) - Partnering Across Boundaries to Protect Lake Erie
  3. Arizona Land and Water Trust* (Arizona) - Prioritizing Land Conservation to Protect Rivers and Aquifers
  4. Feather River Land Trust* (California) - Stewardship Through Adaptive Land Management
  5. Alachua Conservation Trust* (Florida) - Communicating Watershed Protection Messages

EPA Funding Eligibility Fact Sheets

Clean Water Act Section 319 - Nonpoint Source Program

Advancing Watershed Protection Through Land Conservation: Eligibilities & Approaches in the Clean Water Act Section 319 Program (pdf) (938.29 KB, 841-F-24-001)

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)

Healthy Watersheds Protection

  • EPA's Healthy Watersheds Program
    • What EPA Is Doing for Healthy Watersheds
    • Technical Elements
    • Learning Exchanges
    • Healthy Watersheds Listserv
    • Program Contacts
  • Information About Healthy Watersheds
    • Basic Information and FAQs
    • Benefits of Healthy Watersheds
  • Integrated Assessment of Healthy Watersheds
    • Developing a Watershed Health Index
    • Developing a Watershed Vulnerability Index
    • Examples of Integrated Assessments
    • Preliminary Healthy Watersheds Assessment
  • Watershed Protection
    • Initiatives to Protect Healthy Watersheds
    • Tools and Resources to Protect Watersheds
    • Protection Projects in Your State and Region
    • Healthy Watersheds Consortium Grant
    • Land Conservation and Watershed Protection
  • Program Reports & Publications
    • Healthy Watersheds Program Reports
    • Key Program Documents
Contact Us About Healthy Watersheds Protection
Contact Us to ask a question, provide feedback, or report a problem.
Last updated on October 4, 2024
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