Blair County Conservation District Receives NFWF Grant

The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency today announced $9.6 million in grants to support the restoration and conservation of the Chesapeake Bay watershed. The 11 grants will leverage more than $28 million in matching contributions to generate a total conservation impact of nearly $38 million.

Blair County Conservation District received a grant to install stream restoration projects, riparian buffers, and green infrastructure through municipality partnerships and partner with farmers to stabilize farm lanes and in-field erosion/scouring sites, and host workshops to encourage the adoption of these practices.

This project will accelerate water quality improvements by networking with existing and new partners to install sound water quality improvements in Blair County: the Beaverdam, Frankstown and Little Juniata Watersheds.

The grant from the NFWF will be $664,428. With matching funds at $748,840, the project total will be $1,413,268

Grants were awarded through the Innovative Nutrient and Sediment Reduction Grant Program (INSR Program), a core program under NFWF’s Chesapeake Bay Stewardship Fund (CBSF). CBSF is a partnership between NFWF and the EPA to provide grant funding, technical assistance, and networking and information sharing in support of local, on-the-ground conservation and restoration efforts to restore the bay and its tributary rivers and streams.

Additional support for CBSF is provided by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Service and U.S. Forest Service, the Department of the Interior’s U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and the Altria Group.

The 11 grants will support innovative approaches to reduce pollution to local rivers and streams, restore habitats, and improve rural and urban communities in Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia and West Virginia. These projects will further emphasize partnerships and collaborative approaches as central to effective local and regional ecosystem restoration efforts. The funds will help partners engage farmers and agricultural producers, homeowners, churches, businesses and municipalities to improve the quality of life in their communities, local water quality and, ultimately, the health of the Chesapeake Bay.