Water Quality Improvement Efforts in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed to Benefit from $22.4 Million in Watershed Restoration Grants
June 25 2024 - 12:02PM
The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) today announced
$22.4 million in grant awards to support water quality improvement
efforts in the Chesapeake Bay watershed. The 13 grants will
leverage $35.3 million in matching contributions to generate a
total conservation impact of $57.7 million.
The grants were awarded through the Innovative Nutrient and
Sediment Reduction Grant (INSR) program, a key funding mechanism of
the federal-state Chesapeake Bay Program (CBP)
partnership designed to support on-the-ground nutrient and sediment
reduction activities across the Bay watershed. The INSR program is
administered by NFWF, in partnership with CBP and the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency, under NFWF’s Chesapeake Bay
Stewardship Fund (CBSF), an ongoing 25-year partnership
between NFWF and other federal and private funders that provides
grant funding, technical assistance, networking and information
sharing programming in support of local, on-the-ground conservation
and restoration efforts to restore the Chesapeake Bay and its
tributary rivers and streams.
“These awards through the 2024 INSR program will advance
significant progress towards the goals and outcomes of both the
2014 Chesapeake Bay Watershed Agreement and
NFWF’s Chesapeake Bay Business Plan for water quality
improvement, the health of local rivers and streams across the Bay
watershed, and restoration of key habitats that provide ecological
benefits far beyond nutrient and sediment reduction,” said Jeff
Trandahl, executive director and CEO of NFWF.
“These grants reflect our continuing commitment to protect the
Chesapeake Bay and preserve our nation’s environmental legacy for
future generations,” said EPA Chesapeake Bay Program Office
Director Martha Shimkin. “It is inspiring to be working with so
many awardees who have long been committed to preserving,
protecting, and enhancing the Chesapeake Bay and its
watershed.”
Since 2018, the INSR program has emphasized robust and
diversified partnerships and collaborative approaches as critical
drivers of effective local and regional watershed restoration
efforts and meaningful engagement of communities in the planning,
design and implementation of those efforts. The funds will help
partners engage farmers and agricultural producers, community-based
organizations, homeowners, churches, businesses and municipalities
to improve local water quality and the health of the Chesapeake
Bay.
In addition, NFWF and EPA have further prioritized investments
that accelerate implementation of natural and nature-based
watershed restoration practices that provide long-term water
quality improvement benefits, increase aquatic and terrestrial
habitat for at-risk species, and enhance climate resilience for
human and wildlife communities. Importantly, these awards will
provide important contributions to collective goals and outcomes of
the CBP (through the 2014 Watershed Agreement, and NFWF, through
its Chesapeake Bay Business Plan), including restoring 170 miles of
riparian forest buffer, implementing agricultural best management
practices on 40,000 acres, and reducing annual nitrogen pollution
by roughly half a million pounds.
Examples of this year’s grant recipients include:
- Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural
Resources ($2,000,000) will utilize novel contracting
and procurement mechanisms in partnership with regional watershed
forestry specialists and local partners to expand adoption of
watershed forestry best management practices to restore 135 acres
of riparian forest buffers, plant 50 acres of urban trees, and
install 50 acres of conservation landscaping.
- Chesapeake Conservancy ($1,633,500) will
advance delisting of impaired local streams across central
Pennsylvania by implementing approximately 30 full-farm restoration
projects, including comprehensive nutrient management planning and
restoration of 125 acres of riparian buffers.
- James River Association ($1,457,500) will
build capacity through the Upper and Middle James River Riparian
Consortium to combat remaining barriers to adoption of riparian
forest buffer restoration practices and implement a framework for
resilient funding to help restore 47 miles of riparian forest
buffers in new regions and landscapes of the James River
watershed.
- Tioga County Soil and Water Conservation District
($1,972,000) will accelerate implementation of stream
corridor projects and practices to diverse landowners across the
upper Susquehanna River basin, reducing annual sediment pollution
by nearly 200 tons through development and implementation of stream
restoration plans, creation of accessible education opportunities
for underserved landowners, and engaging 200 volunteers in
conservation efforts to improve water quality and promote
ecological and habitat benefits.
- The Mid-Atlantic 4R Nutrient Stewardship Association
($1,366,000) will utilize trusted agricultural
advisors and established partnerships to advance improved
agricultural nutrient management in the Chesapeake Bay watershed.
Project will result in improved nutrient management on 20,000 acres
of agricultural lands.
A complete list of the 2024 Chesapeake Bay Innovative Nutrient
and Sediment Reduction grants recipients is available
here.
Since 2006, the INSR Program has provided more than $200 million
to more than 250 projects that have reduced 36 million pounds of
nitrogen, 9 million pounds of phosphorus, and nearly 800,000 tons
of sediment across the Chesapeake Bay watershed.
For more information about the Chesapeake Bay Stewardship Fund
or to download the 2024 Chesapeake Bay Innovative Nutrient and
Sediment Reduction grant slate,
visit www.nfwf.org/chesapeake.
About the National Fish and Wildlife
FoundationChartered by Congress in 1984, the National Fish
and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) protects and restores the nation’s
fish, wildlife, plants and habitats. Working with federal,
corporate, foundation and individual partners, NFWF has funded more
than 6,800 organizations and generated a total conservation impact
of more than $10 billion. NFWF is an equal opportunity provider.
Learn more at nfwf.org.
About the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
GrantsEvery year, EPA awards more than $4 billion in
funding for grants and other assistance agreements. From small
non-profit organizations to large state governments, EPA works to
help many visionary organizations achieve their environmental
goals. With countless success stories over the years, EPA grants
remain a chief tool to protect human health and the
environment.
About the Chesapeake Bay ProgramThe Chesapeake
Bay Program is a regional partnership consisting of federal, state
and local governments, academic institutions and non-governmental
organizations. Primarily funded by the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency, the Chesapeake Bay Program has set the guidance
and policy for restoring the Chesapeake Bay since 1983. Learn more
at www.chesapeakebay.net.
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Rob Blumenthal
National Fish and Wildlife Foundation
(202) 857-0166
rob.blumenthal@nfwf.org