Hat Chat

USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack has announced six Indiana watersheds will be part of a new initiative to improve water quality and the overall health of the Mississippi River Basin. The Mississippi River Basin Healthy Watersheds Initiative (MRBI) covering 12 states will provide approximately $320 million in USDA financial assistance over the next four years. USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) manages the Initiative.

The watersheds that include land in Indiana are the highest priority Indiana watersheds for reducing nutrient loading. They are Vermillion (Upper Mississippi River sub-basin), Eel, Upper East Fork White, Wildcat, Upper Wabash, and Upper Great Miami. The 41 watersheds in 12 states exceed 42 million acres. Indiana’s six watersheds total 2,758,919 acres.

Indiana State Conservationist Jane Hardisty said the initiative stems from Vilsack’s concerns over hypoxia, or lack of oxygen, in the Gulf of Mexico. “And so quite a few states have worked together the past year to put together this initiative,” Hardisty told HAT.

Next is the selection process of smaller watershed projects within those six Indiana watershed areas.

In the Hoosier Ag Today interview Hardisty talks more about where those watersheds are located and the selection process:

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