In the five years since BP’s Deepwater Horizon oil spill, America’s farmers, ranchers and forest managers have partnered with the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to voluntarily help Gulf of Mexico ecosystems recover.
Their proven conservation efforts on private lands have helped clean and conserve water, restore habitat and strengthen agricultural operations in the region.
“With USDA’s partnership, America’s producers stepped forward to help in a time of need,” Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said.
“They created habitat for birds migrating south to provide an alternative to coastal habitats impacted by the spill, and they made conservation improvements to their farms, ranches and forests to help improve water, air and soil quality and restore habitats,” he continued.