The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, along with the EPA, recently announced $33.8 million in restoration and conservation grants. 

The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) announced today $33.8 million in grant awards to support the restoration and conservation of the Chesapeake Bay watershed. NFWF and EPA representatives joined local leaders and community members at Truxtun Park in Annapolis, MD to announce the awards. The 104 grants will leverage more than $30 million in matching contributions to generate a total conservation impact of more than $64 million.

The grants were awarded through the Innovative Nutrient and Sediment Reduction Grant Program (INSR) and the Small Watershed Grants (SWG) Programs, core grant programs of the federal-state Chesapeake Bay Program partnership that are administered under NFWF’s Chesapeake Bay Stewardship Fund (CBSF). CBSF is a partnership between NFWF and EPA to provide grant funding, technical assistance, and networking and information sharing in support of local, on-the-ground conservation and restoration efforts to restore the bay and its tributary rivers and streams.

The 104 grants announced today will support innovative and community-led approaches to reduce pollution to local rivers and streams, restore habitats, and improve rural and urban communities across the Chesapeake Bay watershed. These projects will further emphasize partnerships and collaborative approaches as central to effective local and regional ecosystem restoration efforts and engagement of local communities in the planning, design, and implementation of restoration and conservation efforts. The funds will help partners engage community-based organizations, farmers and agricultural producers, homeowners, churches, businesses, and municipalities to improve the quality of life in their communities, local water quality and, ultimately, the health of the Chesapeake Bay.  The awards also include projects that support communities seeking to advance diversity, equity, and inclusion in the planning, design, and implementation of ecosystem restoration efforts across the Chesapeake Bay watershed that align with NFWF’s and EPA conservation goals.

Examples of this year’s grant recipients include:

• City of Annapolis ($500,000) will install a living shoreline to improve water quality, habitat, and resilience in Hawkins Cove and improve public access for the surrounding community, engage 300 community members in project planning, design, and implementation.
• Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay ($1,000,000) Outcomes-Based Model for Accelerating Pollutant Reductions (MD,PA). Pilot an outcomes-based model for accelerating pollution reductions in Maryland and Pennsylvania.
• Future Harvest ($763,200) Nutrient and Sediment Reduction through Healthy Soils and Regenerative Agriculture (MD) Use partnerships to catalyze nutrient and sediment reduction through healthy soils and regenerative agriculture in Maryland.

A complete list of the 2022 Chesapeake Bay Innovative Nutrient and Sediment Reduction grants recipients is available here. A complete list of the 2022 Chesapeake Bay Small Watershed grants recipients is available here. See a list of quotes from elected officials and partners about today’s grant announcement here.

Read the full press release.