Chesapeake Bay Watershed Getting $33.8 Million in Grants

ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) — The Chesapeake Bay is getting about $33.8 million in conservation grants.

The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation announced the grants Friday to support the restoration and conservation of the bay watershed.

NFWF and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency representatives joined local leaders and community members at a park in Annapolis, Maryland, to announce the awards.

The 104 grants will leverage more than $30 million in matching contributions to generate a total conservation impact of more than $64 million.

The grants were awarded through the Innovative Nutrient and Sediment Reduction Grant Program and the Small Watershed Grants Programs. Those are core grant programs of the federal-state Chesapeake Bay Program partnership that are administered under NFWF’s Chesapeake Bay Stewardship Fund.

The 104 grants will support community-led approaches to reduce pollution to local rivers and streams, restore habitats, and improve rural and urban communities across the Chesapeake Bay watershed.