Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced over $18 million in grants for six states and Washington D.C. to support restoration and conservation of the Chesapeake Bay watershed. 
The grants were awarded through the Chesapeake Bay Stewardship fund, and with nearly $19 million in matching funds, the total impact rises to greater than $36 million. Grants were awarded to several Maryland jurisdictions for tree planting initiatives, tree canopy expansion, stormwater projects, and more.
“EPA’s ongoing commitment and accountability to the restoration of the Bay is furthered by these grants that help address some of our most critical challenges, including reducing pollution from agricultural operations in Pennsylvania,” said EPA Region 3 Administrator Cosmo Servidio.
Grants to Maryland Jurisdictions:
Planting the Trees for the Future Initiative (MD)
Grantee: Howard County, Maryland
Grant Amount:. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $999,202
Matching Funds:. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $1,315,670
Total Project:. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $2,314,872
Expand local collaborations on environmental restoration, the rate and scale of reforestation and other natural filters, strategic land conservation, and environmental job opportunities in
Central Maryland. Project will triple the average annual number of trees planted across the pilot area by the end of the threeyear period, with a target rate of 100,000 trees per year across the Greater Baltimore Wilderness Coalition territory including Howard County, Baltimore County, and Baltimore City.
Glenmont Forest Green Streets Water Quality Restoration (MD)
Grantee: Montgomery County Department of Environmental Protection
Grant Amount:. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $500,000
Matching Funds:. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $1,656,995
Total Project:. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $2,156,995
Construct a community-wide green street project in Silver Spring, Maryland with 67 rain gardens, bioretention gardens, and tree box filters to improve water quality. Project will
work in collaboration with Rock Creek Conservancy, and the green infrastructure implemented will educate and engage the community while reducing 133 pounds of nitrogen, 20 pounds of phosphorous, and 35 tons of sediment pollution annually to Rock Creek, the Potomac River, and the Chesapeake Bay.
Roberts Field Restoration (MD)
Grantee: Carroll County Government – Bureau of Resource Management
Grant Amount:. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $50,000
Matching Funds:. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $121,342
Total Project:. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $171,342
Engineer drawings to retrofit the Roberts Field existing wet pond stormwater management facility with a drainage area of 47 acres, 21 of which are impervious, to an innovative wet pond and submerged gravel wetland facility and create 900 linear feet of restored stream. Project will lead to improved water quality, provide additional natural habitat, reduce thermal impacts, and maintain the community amenity at the headwaters for Piney Run, a Use Class III cold water trout stream.
Grants affecting Maryland:
$990,000 – The Mid-Atlantic 4R Nutrient Stewardship Association – Accelerating Implementation of Farmer Adoption of Nutrient Stewardship Practices (Maryland)
$500,000 – Blue Water Baltimore, Inc. – Implementing Green Stormwater Infrastructure in West Baltimore (East, Southeast and West Baltimore City, Within the Northwest Harbor-Patapsco River Watershed and the Dead Run-Gwynns Falls Watershed in Maryland)
$487,837 – Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay, Inc. – Healthy Streams Farm Stewardship: Chesapeake Logperch Initiative (Susquehanna River Watersheds in York, Lancaster and Chester, Pennsylvania and Harford and Cecil Counties in Maryland)
$469,887 – Harry R. Hughes Center for Agro-Ecology – Increasing Wetland Habitat and Creating Tidal Salt Marshes to Support American Black Duck (Somerset and Dorchester Counties in Maryland)
$297,288 – Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay, Inc. – Expanding Tree Canopy in Charles County, Maryland (Charles County, Maryland)
$194,636 – Lower Shore Land Trust – Delmarva Working and Natural Lands Conservation and Restoration (Wicomico, Somerset and Worcester Counties in Maryland)
$50,000 – Shorerivers, Inc. – Old Love Point Park Stream and Park Restoration (Kent Island, Within the Town of Stevensville, Queen Anne’s County, Maryland)
$50,000 – National Wildlife Federation – Modelling an Approach to Greening Gray Infrastructure (Choptank River in Cambridge, Maryland)
$50,000 – Wicomico Environmental Trust – Monitoring Water Quality and Health of the Wicomico River (Wicomico River, Delmar, Maryland)
$49,948 – Community Ecology Institute – Hickory Ridge Walkable Watershed Concept Plan Development for the Patuxent River Watershed (Howard County, Maryland)
$49,890 – Delmarva Poultry Industry, Inc. – Establishing an Poultry Litter Matching Service for a Cleaner Bay and Healthy Farms (Delmarva Peninsula, Delaware, the Eastern Shore of Maryland and the Eastern Shore of Virginia)
$49,804 – Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments – River Herring Habitat Assessment for Oxon Run and Lower Beaverdam Creek (Oxon Run and Lower Beaverdam Creek, Prince George’s County, Maryland)
$49,787 – Greater Baybrook Alliance – Greater Baybrook Green Infrastructure Master Plan (South Baltimore, Maryland)
$49,698 – The Nature Conservancy – Identifying, Prioritizing, and Incentivizing Marsh Management Actions in the Chesapeake Bay (Maryland and Virginia Tidal Marshes)
$49,475 – Center for Watershed Protection, Inc. – Maryland State Fairgrounds Green Infrastructure Planning and Design (Timonium, Maryland)
$49,300 – the Neighborhood Design Center – Municipal Urban Forestry Needs Analysis and Pilot Projects for Prince George’s County (Town of Forest Heights, Oxon Hill, City of New Carrollton, Maryland)
$47,517 – The Potomac Conservancy, Inc. – Expanding Growing Native Tree Initiative (Montgomery and Frederick Counties in Maryland and Northern Virginia)
Chesapeake Bay Stewardship Fund is a partnership between several EPA programs and the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF).
For a full list of grants, view the NFWF grant slate.
