ALEXANDRIA, La. — Owners of land along the Mississippi River in Louisiana may be eligible for financial and technical assistance to increase bottomland forest acreage and enhance water quality under the Wetlands Reserve Enhancement Program. Eligible land is between the Mississippi River and the river’s primary levees. These lands are called “batture” lands and are in the river’s active floodplain.

Landowners enrolling in the voluntary WREP in Louisiana can receive between $1,200 and $1,900 per acre for placing a conservation easement on the land. The sign-up period for WREP ends May 17.

When fully implemented, the program will reduce sediment and nutrients entering waterways, decrease flooding, and improve bird and fish habitat in six states.