Applications for grants to restore ripaian forests, wetlands, fish passage and to reduce sources of nutrient and sediment pollution are now being accepted under the Chesapeake Bay Small Watershed Grants Program.

Applications are due April 2.

Watershed restoration proposals that address one or more of the following priorities will be ranked highest for funding, all other things being equal:

· Restoring wetlands or forests (e.g., riparian buffers, floodplain forests) that will contribute significant improvements in habitat or water quality;

· Restoring fish passage in streams where unimpeded flow will establish significant gains in aquatic habitat for anadramous/diadramous fish;

· Reducing significant sources of nutrient and sediment loads to the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries, especially through developing integrated management strategies to address agricultural sources of nutrients and sediment; and

· Restoring shoreline habitat through projects that replace existing hardened (e.g., bulkheads and riprap revetments) or eroding shorelines with tidal marsh, natural bank stabilization materials, and buffer plantings.

Watershed conservation proposals that address one or more of the following priorities will be ranked highest for funding, all other things being equal:

· Implementing a locally supported land conservation strategy to permanently protect land from development, especially forests, wetlands and lands supporting Best Management Practices such as stream buffers. Implementing low impact development practices and other innovative stormwater management practices to offset the potential water quality impacts of new development;

· Implementing social marketing campaigns focused on motivating specific conservation action(s) by a targeted audience within a particular watershed; and

· Demonstrating the economic incentives associated with conservation and pollution prevention practices to increase their rate of adoption.

Funding will be awarded through a competitive grant process to projects in the following two categories. Refer to the Grant Guidelines, below, for more information about these two categories.

Project Planning and Design – Grants ranging from $10,000 to $30,000 will be awarded to support project planning and design activities that set the stage for the successful implementation of watershed restoration and conservation projects, and that establish local capacity to ensure project investments can be sustained.

Implementation – Grants ranging from $20,000 to $200,000 will be awarded to support projects that directly lead to measurable improvements in the health of the Chesapeake Bay and its watershed. Implementation grants may support watershed restoration, watershed conservation and watershed planning projects. Implementation grants will vary in size, duration and scale.

In general, smaller-scale demonstration projects will be eligible for grants in the $20,000 to $50,000 range. Multi-year and/or larger-scale projects will be eligible for grants in the $50,000 to $200,000 range.

The program is administered by the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation.

For more information, visit the Chesapeake Bay Small Watershed Grants Program webpage.

1/26/2007