The U.S. Department of Agriculture is putting $3 million into landscape-scale restoration work, part of a broader push to use farms, ranches, and forests as climate solutions.

The funding comes from the Inflation Reduction Act, the 2022 climate law that gave USDA roughly $20 billion for conservation programs. Unlike traditional farm-by-farm grants, this money targets projects covering thousands of acres across multiple landowners, designed to deliver measurable climate benefits like carbon storage and ecosystem resilience.

For decades, USDA conservation programs operated field by field, an approach that often failed to fix bigger problems like degraded watersheds or broken wildlife corridors. The landscape-scale model, long used by the Forest Service, is newer for working agricultural lands. Private lands cover 40 percent of the lower 48 states, and the Biden administration sees them as critical to meeting climate goals.

The grant, posted in early July, doesn't specify a location or project details. USDA typically awards this type of funding through competitive processes involving states, tribes, land trusts, or conservation districts. The $3 million size suggests a mid-tier project, not one of the flagship watershed initiatives that have drawn tens of millions in funding.

The timing matters. With IRA conservation dollars on a 10-year spending timeline, USDA is racing to obligate funds before potential political shifts. Some Republican lawmakers have proposed rescinding unspent climate money, though agricultural programs have proven more politically durable than other parts of the law.

The broader IRA conservation portfolio has sparked both praise and criticism since 2022. Environmental groups argue it doesn't go far enough. Some conservative farm groups and lawmakers have pushed back on federal climate mandates. But on the ground, many rural communities have embraced the funding, particularly where it aligns with local soil health and water quality priorities.

Project details and implementation timelines weren't disclosed in the grant posting.