Environmentalists have welcomed plans to introduce legislation which would reduce runoff into the Upper Mississippi River Basin. Rep. Ron Kind (D-Wis.) has said he will introduce legislation into the House of Representatives which would increase funding for and focus conservation programmes on high priority watersheds in the Upper Mississippi River basin. The Upper Mississippi River Basin Conservation Act of 2000 would increase funding to schemes - such as the Conservation Reserve Program - which provide assistance to landowners who adopt land use practices that reduce soil erosion and polluted runoff.