The Eastern Shore Land Conservancy will receive $500,000 to advance long-term landscape resilience.
WASHINGTON, D.C. (August 27, 2024) – Today the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation announced 30 grants totaling $8.9 million to support wildlife habitat, climate resilience, community conservation partnerships and equitable access to nature in the Chesapeake Bay watershed.
This year’s slate of grants will advance the goals of the Chesapeake Watershed Investments in Landscape Defense (Chesapeake WILD) Program and leverage more than $13.7 million in grantee matching funds, for a total conservation impact of $22.6 million. The awards announced today will conserve more than 10,000 acres of fish and wildlife habitat, increase recreational access to 2,000 acres, restore nearly 100 miles of streamside forest habitat, and reconnect more than 1,500 miles of aquatic habitat for migratory fish species.
“These funds help support partner-driven, locally led projects to improve water quality, enhance climate resilience, support conservation needs in vulnerable communities, and benefit residents and wildlife across the watershed now and well into the future,” said Service Director Martha Williams. “These investments help support a future for the Chesapeake Watershed where people and nature thrive in an interconnected way and where every community benefits from being part of a healthy watershed.”
The Chesapeake Bay is the largest estuary in the U.S. and home to thousands of species of plants and animals. Nearly one million waterfowl winter on and near the bay each year — approximately one-third of the Atlantic Coast’s migratory population. More than 18 million people live and work in the Chesapeake Bay region, many depending on industries tied to the health of the watershed, like outdoor recreation, farming and fishing.
“The Chesapeake WILD program fulfills a common goal between NFWF and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to conserve, steward, and enhance fish and wildlife habitats and related conservation values in the Chesapeake Bay watershed,” said Jeff Trandahl, executive director and chief executive officer of NFWF. “In marrying our legacy of partnership with the Service and our deep and lasting commitments to Chesapeake Bay watershed restoration, the WILD program presents new avenues to accelerate species and habitat restoration and conservation and community engagement in conservation across the region.”
The Chesapeake WILD program was established to support collaborative conservation in the watershed and provide grant funding for community-driven projects that align with five interrelated focal areas for sustaining the health of the watershed and its inhabitants into the future:
- Conserving and restoring imperiled fish and wildlife habitats
- Enhancing climate resilience and readiness
- Building community partnerships and conservation capacity, including in vulnerable communities
- Increasing equitable public access for recreation and human connections with nature
- Improving water quality
The Service partners with NFWF to deliver the Chesapeake WILD grant program as part of the Foundation’s broader Chesapeake Bay Stewardship Fund — a portfolio of competitive grant programs helping to restore and protect the Chesapeake Bay watershed.
Examples of the grant awards include:
- Eastern Shore Land Conservancy ($500,000) will advance long-term landscape resilience on the Delmarva Peninsula by protecting marsh migration corridors between Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge and the Nanticoke River in Dorchester County, Maryland, through strategic landowner outreach to conserve approximately 500 acres of important wildlife habitat. This project builds on successful land conservation supported by a 2022 Chesapeake WILD grant.
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