Kansas will receive $3.8 million in conservation funding to help landowners protect key farmlands, grasslands and wetlands.

The grant was announced Tuesday by the Natural Resources Conservation Service. It’s part of $328 million the U.S. Department of Agriculture is investing nationwide for conservation easements.

The USDA’s Kansas conservationist, Eric Banks, said conservation easements will help farmers protect valuable farmland from development, restore lands best suited for grazing and return wetlands to their natural conditions.

The 2014 farm bill created the Agricultural Conservation Easement Program. About 18 projects in Kansas were chosen to restore 4,800 acres.