NFWF announces more than $12.6 million in grants from Chesapeake Bay Stewardship Fund

The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced more than $12.6 million in grants to support the restoration and conservation of the Chesapeake Bay watershed in six states and the District of Columbia. 

The grants will generate more than $21.2 million in matching contributions for a total conservation impact of $33.8 million. They were awarded through the Chesapeake Bay Stewardship Fund (CBSF), a partnership between NFWF and the EPA’s Innovative Nutrient and Sediment Reduction Grants Program (INSR Program) and Small Watershed Grants Program (SWG Program). Additional support is provided by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Service, the U.S. Forest Service, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Altria Group Restoring America’s Resources partnership and CSX. 

One of the grants will support a collaborative initiative led by Trout Unlimited that focuses on cost-effective improvements in aquatic connectivity and nonpoint source pollution to benefit Eastern brook trout in Pennsylvania using resources from the North Atlantic Aquatic Connectivity Collaborative (NAACC). By replacing three culverts based on NAACC protocols and passability criteria, the partners will reconnect 15 miles of brook trout habitat.