Grant-making for the Chesapeake

As someone who grew up in Maryland, I can't let a bit of good news about the Chesapeake Bay slip by. So here it is: the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation awarded $2.8 million to 32 projects that are improving the environment of the Bay watershed.

According to a foundation press release, the awards, given through the foundation's Chesapeake Bay Small Watershed Grants Program, will "develop conservation plans, preserve valuable natural lands and implement on-the-ground restoration practices throughout the Chesapeake Bay's six-state watershed."

This is very good news, as the Bay is incredibly polluted, especially with nutrient pollution that causes algal blooms that choke off the vibrancy of habitats. The high level of pollution is starting to cause increasing damage to human health, as well.

Here are some of the projects awarded in this round of grant making.

The Piedmont Environmental Council, recipient of $75,000, will help farmers put in fences and forest buffers to keep livestock and fertilizers out of the watershed environments along Virginia's Upper Hazel River.GreenTreks Network, also receiving $75,000, will run a social marketing campaign called "Reign in the Rain," which will promote runoff-reducing practices in the Cedar Run and Paxton Creek watersheds near Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Ducks Unlimited, with a grant of $20,333, will restore 473 acres of wetlands, 84 of which are endangered Atlantic white cedar, in Delaware's Nanticoke and Pocomoke river watersheds.

Yay, now maybe I'll be able to swim at Sandy Point State Park, a recreation area on the Bay, without worrying that I'll grow a third eye or turn fluorescent yellow. Something tells me, however, that $2.8 million, while a massive amount of money, might not be quite enough to bring the whole area back to health. But, still, it's a good start and very good news for the region.

 

Photo courtesy of thisisbossi, via Flickr