ANNAPOLIS, Md. – At an event held today at the Lubber Run Community Center in Arlington, Virginia, the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF), U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the federal-state Chesapeake Bay Program announced over $14.4 million in grant awards that will protect and restore the Chesapeake Bay watershed in Maryland. The 40 grants announced today will generate over $19.7 million in matching contributions for a total conservation impact of over $34.1 million.
The grants were awarded through the Innovative Nutrient and Sediment Reduction(INSR) Grant and Small Watersheds Grant (SWG) programs, core funding programs of the Chesapeake Bay Program that are administered under NFWF’s Chesapeake Bay Stewardship Fund. This Stewardship Fund is a partnership between NFWF, EPA and other federal and private funders that provides grant funding, technical assistance, networking and information sharing in support of local, on-the-ground conservation and restoration efforts to restore the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries.
“With 2024 marking 25 years of partnership between NFWF and the EPA in advancing efforts to protect and restore the Chesapeake Bay watershed, we’re thrilled to celebrate this programmatic milestone with a record annual investment of $25 million in voluntary and community-based projects across the Bay watershed,’ said Jeff Trandahl, executive director and CEO of NFWF.
Some of this year’s Chesapeake Stewardship Fund grant recipients in Maryland include:
- American Rivers ($499,030): Funds will revitalize Cypress Branch, a tributary of the Chester River, by removing Cypress Branch Dam, reconnecting 18 miles of upstream mainstem and tributary habitat for the benefit of river herring and other migratory and resident species.
- Baltimore Tree Trust ($74,998): The project will develop curriculum for Baltimore City Public Schools, train City School Groundskeepers on maintenance of existing trees on school grounds and develop a Tree Lookbook to empower more residents to make decisions about tree plantings in their communities.
- Severn River Association ($75,000): The project will further important watershed restoration partnership opportunities with the United States Naval Academy Golf Course by designing green stormwater infrastructure practices to capture and treat stormwater flowing from private residential properties and the United States Naval Academy Golf Course into Mill Creek, a tributary of the Severn River.
- Talbot County, Maryland ($979,267): In partnership with the Tilghman on Chesapeake Community Association, the County will install 663 feet of living shoreline with stone and oyster breaks to reduce erosion, restore marsh habitat and establish open space areas for marsh migration.
A complete list of the 2024 Chesapeake Stewardship Fund Innovative Nutrient and Sediment Reduction Grant and Small Watersheds Grant recipients can be found on the NFWF website.
Additionally, at the same event, the EPA announced approximately $206 million in awards to NFWF and the Chesapeake Bay Trust to continue funding local projects and providing technical assistance for protecting and restoring the Chesapeake Bay and its watershed over the next four years. This funding includes $96 million from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.
“These grants reflect our continuing commitment to protect the Chesapeake Bay and preserve our nation’s environmental legacy for future generations,” said EPA Mid-Atlantic Regional Administrator Adam Ortiz. “This historic investment by the Biden-Harris Administration enables EPA to continue providing game-changing funding for our partners who are equally committed to preserving, protecting and enhancing the communities, people and businesses who rely on the Bay.”
In addition to the $193 million awarded to NFWF for the Small Watershed and InnovativeNutrient and Sediment Reduction grants, $13 million was provided to the Chesapeake Bay Trust, a non-profit grant-making organization, to administer a new Community Capacity Building grant program.
“Without strong communities and strong nonprofits realizing multiple benefits fromand participating in natural resource efforts, we will not be able to realize our vision ofa restored watershed,” said Jana Davis, Ph.D., president of the Chesapeake Bay Trust. “The Bay Trust will be investing these resources in a wide range of community-based organizations and local governments, many of them historically excluded, to build their capacity to restore watersheds and improve public health.”