NFWF Grant Profile

Gulf Coast Conservation Initiative partners plan to use the requested funds to strengthen coastal resilience and conserve living resources by advancing conservation and management on private lands. We propose to provide strategic outreach and technical assistance to private landowners, with particular focus on increasing enrollment in the NRCS Agricultural Conservation Easement Program (ACEP) Wetlands Reserve Easement option, as well as enhancing existing enrollments. Since 2012, the Coastal Prairie Coalition has collaborated with the Coastal Bend Bays and Estuaries Program, the Nature Conservancy, Texas Parks & Wildlife Department, the Natural Resources Conservation Service, the U. S. Fish & Wildlife Service, and several private landowners in a well-coordinated, strategic, cooperative effort called the Gulf Coast Conservation Initiative.