ANNAPOLIS, Md. – Today, an event was convened at the Lubber Run Community Center in Arlington, Virginia, where the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF), the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and the federal-state Chesapeake Bay Program disclosed grant awards exceeding $14.4 million. These grants are dedicated to safeguarding and rehabilitating the Chesapeake Bay watershed in Maryland. A total of 40 grants, announced on this occasion, are anticipated to generate over $19.7 million in matching contributions, resulting in a cumulative conservation impact exceeding $34.1 million.
The grants were disbursed through the Innovative Nutrient and Sediment Reduction (INSR) Grant and Small Watersheds Grant (SWG) programs, fundamental funding initiatives of the Chesapeake Bay Program, managed under the auspices of NFWF’s Chesapeake Bay Stewardship Fund. This Stewardship Fund operates through a collaboration between NFWF, EPA, and various federal and private backers, aiming to offer grant funding, technical support, networking opportunities, and information exchange to bolster localized, ground-level conservation and restoration endeavors geared towards rehabilitating the Chesapeake Bay and its feeder streams.
Jeff Trandahl, the executive director and CEO of NFWF, expressed his enthusiasm regarding the 25-year partnership between NFWF and the EPA in spearheading initiatives to safeguard and rejuvenate the Chesapeake Bay watershed. He celebrated this programmatic milestone by highlighting a historic annual investment of $25 million in voluntary and community-driven projects spanning the Bay watershed.
Among the recipients of this year’s Chesapeake Stewardship Fund grants in Maryland are:
- American Rivers ($499,030): Funding aims to rejuvenate Cypress Branch, a tributary of the Chester River, through the removal of Cypress Branch Dam, thereby reconnecting 18 miles of upstream mainstem and tributary habitat to benefit river herring and other migratory and resident species.
- Baltimore Tree Trust ($74,998): This project endeavors to formulate curricula for Baltimore City Public Schools, provide training to City School Groundskeepers on the maintenance of existing trees on school premises, and create a Tree Lookbook to empower more residents in making informed decisions about tree plantings in their communities.
- Severn River Association ($75,000): The project seeks to bolster crucial watershed restoration partnerships with the United States Naval Academy Golf Course by designing green stormwater infrastructure practices to capture and treat stormwater runoff 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 collaboration with the Tilghman on Chesapeake Community Association, the County plans to install 663 feet of living shoreline incorporating stone and oyster breaks to mitigate erosion, rehabilitate marsh habitat, and designate open space areas to facilitate marsh migration.