The Katy Prairie Conservancy and its partner organizations announced on April 28 a $7 million pledge from the Natural Resources Conservation Service through its Regional Conservation Partnership Program, according to a news release from the Katy Prairie Conservancy.
The award will support the Texas Coastal Prairie Initiative, which aims to conserve large contiguous areas of coastal prairie through the work of the conservancy and its 21 project partners, the release said.
“We are so grateful for this award that will allow KPC and its partners to work with private landowners to permanently protect and enhance coastal prairie, including working cattle ranches, farmland, and natural areas,” said Mary Anne Piacentini, president and chief executive officer of the Katy Prairie Conservancy in the release. “This initiative will sustain the coastal prairie ecosystem, preserve wildlife corridors, and help improve water quality in multiple watersheds. The threat of fragmentation and development pressure in the Texas Upper Coast makes this work especially timely, and we can’t wait to get started.”
The Regional Conservation Partnership Program is an important program that addresses regional natural resource concerns and enables partners to implement solutions to conservation challenges. The Texas Upper Coast has experienced rapid growth, resulting in the conversion of farms, fields and prairies into strip malls, offices, parking lots and proliferating suburbs, consuming thousands of acres of the coastal prairie, one of the most important and threatened ecosystems in North America, the release said.
