On August 25, the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation announced 45 grant awards totaling nearly $15.8 million to improve wildlife habitat, enhance resilience to changing climatic conditions, and engage communities throughout the Delaware River watershed in conservation activities.

Pennsylvania will benefit from 20 grants directly totalling $7,382,400, plus several multi-state grants.

This year’s grant slate is the first to include funds from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, which was enacted in November 2021 and includes an historic $26 million investment in the watershed over five years.

“From its headwaters in New York to Delaware Bay, the Delaware River flows nearly 330 miles through the heart of the densely populated mid-Atlantic region,” said Jeff Trandahl, executive director and CEO of NFWF. “Along its entire path, the Delaware River provides drinking water to more than 15 million people and habitats for a host of wildlife species, from red knots and other shorebirds to iconic and economically valuable fish such as alewives, American shad and eastern brook trout. This year’s significant investment will allow our grantees and their partners to implement projects that benefit people and wildlife and make real conservation gains.”

Thirty-six of the 45 grants were awarded through the Delaware Watershed Conservation Fund, funded by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, with additional support this year from the Bezos Earth Fund and AstraZeneca.

A total of $14 million, up from $9.5 million in 2021, will fund projects in four priority areas: reducing flooding and runoff, restoring fish and wildlife habitats, improving water quality, and enhancing safe public recreational access.

Funds through the federal Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, $4.7 million allocated annually for the next five years, will enable more entities to support innovative projects that use nature-based infrastructure to restore the watershed. 

In addition to these grants, nine of the 45 grants were funded by the Delaware River Restoration Fund, which is supported by the William Penn Foundation.

Grantee organizations have committed more than $16 million in match, for a total conservation impact of about $31.8 million.

Pennsylvania Grants

Delaware Watershed Conservation Fund

-- University of Pittsburgh - Acoustic Monitoring of Focal Bird Species In Dynamic Forest Restoration Block In Delaware River: $173,000

-- PA Resources Council - Building Capacity for More Equitable Green Infrastructure in Delaware and Montgomery County: $293,700

-- Wildlands Conservancy - Bushkill Stream and Fish Passage Restoration Project: $1 million

-- Berks County Conservation District - Cold Run Habitat Restoration and Agricultural Best Management Practice Implementation: $146,200

-- Darby Township, Delaware County - Conway Park Streambank Restoration for Environmental and Community Resilience: $199,000

-- Schuylkill River Development Corp. - Designing the Schuylkill River Trail from Bartram's To Passyunk: $90,000

-- Partnership for the Delaware Estuary - Living Shoreline Design and Permitting Along An Urban Delaware Riverfront: $96,800

-- Foundation for PA Watersheds - Monitoring Wild Trout Populations in the Unassisted Waters of the Delaware River: $119,800

-- Natural Lands Trust - Bear Creek Expansion for Preservation Efforts: $751,800

-- PA Fish & Boat Commission - Removal of the Spring Garden Dam on Neshaminy Creek in Bucks County: $750,000

-- American Bird Conservancy - Restoring Dynamic Forest Structure for Priority Birds In Delaware Watershed: $1,425,800

-- Delaware River City Corp. - Stewarding Philadelphia's Delaware River Watershed Thru Job Skill Training Partnerships: $253,500

-- PA Parks and Forests Foundation - Stream Restoration at Jacobsburg Environmental Education Center: $626,300

Several other multiple-state grants will also benefit Pennsylvania related to building capacity for conservation projects; urban waters programs (Partnership for the Delaware Estuary); dam removal (The Nature Conservancy); salt marsh restoration techniques (Ducks Unlimited); and water resource studies (Delaware River Basin Commission).

Click Here for a list of all Delaware Watershed Conservation Fund grants.

Delaware River Restoration Fund

-- Stroud Water Research Center - Agricultural Best Management Practices and Forested Buffers in Brandywine-Christina Watershed: $300,000

-- Brandywine Red Clay Alliance - East Branch Red Clay Stream Restoration at North Walnut Road: $239,800

-- Pennypack Ecological Restoration Trust - Fulmar heights Green Riparian Restoration Phase II: $151,300

-- Berks Nature - Implementing Whole Farm Agricultural Best Management Practices in the Middle Schuylkill Cluster: $270,000

-- Tookany/Tacony-Frankford Watershed Partnership - Introducing Stormwater Management to the Reform Congregation Keneseth Israel Community: $84,300

-- Partnership for the Delaware Estuary - Pickering Valley Green Stormwater Infrastructure in the Schuylkill Highlands: $168,300

-- Tookany/Tacony-Frankford Watershed Partnership - Shoemaker Run Stream Restoration at Abington Club Golf Course: $244,800

Click Here for a list of all Delaware River Restoration Fund grants.

Click Here for the complete NFWF announcement.

Related Articles:

-- Water Resources Assn. Of The Delaware River Basin Announces 2022 Award Recipients [PaEN]

-- PA Resources Council Receives New Grant Funding For Environmental Justice Work On Stormwater, Flooding Issues  [PaEN]

-- DEP Accepting Applications For Coastal Zone Grants Starting Aug. 29  [PaEN]

-- Stroud Water Research Center Hosts Sept. 21 What's The Ecological Status Of The Schuylkill River?  [PaEN]

-- Rodale Institute Seeking Grow Clean Water College Outreach Ambassadors In Delaware Watershed  [PaEN]

[Posted: August 25, 2022]

8/29/2022