The University of Georgia will receive $8.8 million over three years to help farmers restore streams and rivers on their land through the Working Lands for Wildlife's Southern Waters Framework.
Three colleges - the Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources, the Odum School of Ecology and the College of Engineering - will join with two UGA centers - the River Basin Center and the Institute for Resilient Infrastructure Systems - to host the program.
Wildlife biologists and engineers spread across the South will work with landowners to implement conservation practices that improve water quality and aquatic ecosystem health, including streambank restoration, improved grazing and crop management, and invasive species control.
Working with local U.S. Department of Agriculture Natural Resources Conservation Service offices, the program will also tap into existing USDA funding sources, such as the Environmental Quality Incentive Program, to pay for physical improvements to stream connectivity and aquatic habitats.
"I am most excited about joining a community at UGA that is deeply committed to connecting science with action," said Josselyn Lucas, the Working Lands for Wildlife's Southern Waters Framework coordinator. "This alignment ensures that our work is grounded in both research excellence and practical outcomes for people and wildlife. Most importantly, this partnership will provide the research support and expertise we need to ensure that the conservation we are delivering through USDA programs is truly effective and produces measurable results."
UGA will deploy nearly two dozen biologists and engineers across the Southeast to address challenges on working lands, problems such as erosion from fields, loss of forest cover and degraded dams.
"The Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources develops knowledge to advance sustainable management of forests and other natural resources - a mission that is well-aligned with this work," said Nate Nibbelink, a Warnell professor of spatial ecology and UGA's associate vice president for strategic research growth. "Furthermore, this project could be a model for effectively broadening collaboration across the research and public service missions at UGA to increase our impact on rural landowners and their communities."
Since 2023, biologists and engineers working for the program have provided technical assistance to 48 landowners and technical assistance or direct project support to Natural Resources Conservation Service offices across six states.
"When you sum up the value of this partnership, it's really about giving us the capacity to scale effective aquatic conservation across the Southeast," Lucas said.
