Wells Fargo gives funds to Ducks Unlimited wetland projects

Wells Fargo has announced a $250,000 grant to Ducks Unlimited to go toward wetland projects.

With the grant, Ducks Unlimited will work with the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship and the Iowa Department of Natural Resources to restore wetlands, according to a news release.

Those projects will help reduce nutrient runoff, improve water quality, reduce downstream flooding and provide waterfowl and wildlife habitat, the release states.

Some of those funds will go toward Iowa's Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program that focuses on wetland restoration in heavily farmed areas.

'We'll be putting these wetlands in agriculture landscapes to collect water drained off farm fields through tiling,” Mike Shannon, Ducks Unlimited's regional biologist in Iowa, said in the release. 'By diverting water from tiles into these strategically placed wetlands, we can reduce nitrates entering the waterways by 40 percent to 75 percent. This is a well-recognized method to improve water quality in Iowa.”

The Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program work will take place next year while the grant aims to help fund about five projects and impact about 6,000 acres of farmland, the release states.

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