The driest state in the nation, Nevada has received a significant boost for wetlands restoration efforts with more than $700,000 from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). 

According to a press release, the EPA has granted $715,525 in funds in an attempt to improve programs that restore habitat, protect tribal water quality and preserve wetlands in Nevada. 

The award was granted through the agency's Wetland Program Development Grants to the Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe and the Nevada Department of Conservation and Natural Resources.

"We are very pleased to support our partners in their efforts to improve water quality and restore Nevada’s wetlands" EPA Pacific Southwest Regional Administrator Martha Guzman said on Thursday.

Guzman went on by detailing the potential benefits of the funding. 

“Healthy wetlands provide numerous benefits to ecosystems and communities across Nevada, and these grants will allow our state, local and tribal partners to make significant progress protecting these vital resources where it's needed most," Guzman said in the release. 

Other officials expounded upon why Nevada needed this funding so badly. 

“As the driest state in the nation, EPA's Wetland Program Development Grants have been vital in helping the Nevada Division of Natural Heritage develop Nevada’s first-ever Wetland Program, focusing on the creation of innovative wetland analysis tools, partner engagement and collaboration, and the inventory and assessment of our precious wetland resources throughout the state," Nevada Division of Natural Heritage Administrator Kristin Szabo said in a press release.