December 3rd, 2022 by WCBC Radio

The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) announced today over $12 million in grant awards to support the restoration and conservation of the Chesapeake Bay watershed in Maryland. NFWF and EPA representatives joined local leaders and community members at Truxtun Park in Annapolis, MD to announce the awards. The 39 grants will leverage more than $9.5 million in matching contributions to generate a total conservation impact of more than $21.5 million dollars.

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.

These awards, along with the other 65 announced today, include $15 million provided through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law funds, which is a first set of awards from the infrastructure funding, with more to be announced soon. Additional federal agency funding for CBSF is provided by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Service, U.S. Forest Service, and the Department of the Interior’s U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Private funding is provided by Altria Group, Zoetis, and Astra Zeneca, with additional funding this year from the Bezos Earth Fund.

“This funding not only helps kickstart critical water quality programs within the Chesapeake Bay watershed, it represents an investment in public health and the communities who call the Bay home,” said Janet McCabe, EPA’s Deputy Administrator.  “Our partnerships and collaborative approaches bring farmers, homeowners, communities, businesses and local leaders together as a team, working in partnership to reduce pollution, improve water quality, and revitalize their communities.”

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.

“The grants announced today represent the single largest annual investment in on-the-ground restoration projects in the more than 20-year history of NFWF’s Chesapeake Bay Stewardship Fund partnership with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency,” said Jeff Trandahl, executive director and CEO of NFWF. “These grants demonstrate the power of and the conservation impact of supporting local communities in implementing conservation projects that support broader restoration goals for the Chesapeake Bay while at the same time addressing critical local priorities for environmental improvements.”

Some of this year’s Chesapeake Stewardship Fund grant recipients in Maryland include:

• Chesapeake Conservancy ($445,400) plans to deploy community-led conservation crews in Baltimore City, and Prince Georges and Howard counties to focus on tree planting and maintenance, green infrastructure improvements and maintenance, native habitat restoration and other priority greening projects.

• National Wildlife Federation ($146,500) intends to create and enhance pollinator habitat around urban agricultural and nursery sites in Baltimore in partnership with community-based organizations looking to expand education, training and food access for local communities.

• Oyster Recovery Partnership ($471,900) will galvanize efforts to restore oyster populations in Eastern Bay on Maryland’s Eastern Shore by establishing stakeholder goals and objectives for long-term oyster population efforts, and community engagement and education.

• The Chesapeake Rivers Association ($75,000) plans to retrofit an existing stormwater pond into a regenerative stormwater conveyance with integrated stream and wetland habitat.

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 about today’s grant announcement here.

Since 2006, the INSR Program has provided more than $123 million to 219 projects that have reduced 22 million pounds of nitrogen, 4 million pounds of phosphorus, and 480,000 tons of sediment across the Chesapeake Bay watershed. The SWG Program has provided more than $109 million to 496 projects that have permanently protected 169,00 acres under conservation easement, restored more than 1,550 miles of riparian habitat and 14,000 acres of wetlands, and engage more than 125,000 watershed residents in volunteer conservation and restoration efforts.

For more information about the Chesapeake Bay Stewardship Fund or to download the 2022 Chesapeake Bay Innovative Nutrient and Sediment Reduction and Small Watershed Grants Slates, visit www.nfwf.org/chesapeake.

About the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation
Chartered 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 6,000 organizations and generated a total conservation impact of $7.4 billion. Learn more at www.nfwf.org.

About the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Grants
Every 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 Program
The 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.