The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has awarded $3.46 million in Wetland Program Development Grants to nine communities across the Pacific Southwest to support wetland protection, restoration and management.

The grants support projects in California, Arizona, Hawaii, Nevada and Pacific Island territories, with activities ranging from wetland mapping and monitoring to restoration demonstrations and polluted runoff reduction.

Among the projects, the Hualapai Tribal Council will receive $210,585 to update its Wetland Program Plan, including efforts to monitor water quality, reduce polluted runoff and identify and protect wetlands. The Summit Lake Paiute Tribe received $127,894 to restore a wetland meadow using experimental techniques designed to mimic a naturally occurring beaver dam.

The Buena Vista Rancheria of Me-Wuk Indians will use $454,832 to inventory wetlands and other aquatic resources on Tribal trust lands, develop a planting guide for culturally significant vegetation and conduct a small-scale wetland restoration demonstration.

Other grants will support wetland planning and restoration coordination in Hawaii, wetland inventories and plant guides in Nevada, watershed restoration planning for the Tolowa Dee-Ni Nation and protection of Klamath River headwater wetlands by the Yurok Tribe.

EPA said wetlands can help improve water quality, provide wildlife habitat, maintain surface water flows during dry periods, store floodwaters and protect communities from storm surges.