Small Watershed Grants Program



The Chesapeake Bay Small Watershed Grants Program provides grants of $20,000 to $200,000 to organizations working on community-based projects that improve the condition of their local watershed while building stewardship among citizens.



Since 2000, the Small Watershed Grants Program has provided more than $27 million to support 626 projects throughout the Chesapeake Bay watershed. These grants have been used by recipients to leverage close to $90 million in matching funds, for a total of more than $115 million supporting of local community restoration projects.



The Small Watershed Grants Program is administered by the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation and primarily funded by the U.S. EPA Chesapeake Bay Program. Additional funding partners vary annually but have included the U.S. Forest Service, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service and the Keith Campbell Foundation for the Environment.



Small Watershed Grants Program Goals and Objectives



Small Watershed Grants Program projects address at least one of the program's three goals and objectives:



Watershed Restoration: Projects that improve water quality and/or directly restore vital habitats and living resources within the Chesapeake Bay watershed. Priority is given to projects that address restoration of wetlands, forests, fish passage and/or shoreline habitat, or projects that reduce significant sources of nutrient and sediment loads.



Watershed Conservation: Projects that protect water quality and vital habitats through habitat conservation, prevention of new pollutant sources, and/or increasing individual conservation actions. Priority is given to projects that address land conservation strategies, innovative stormwater management practices, social marketing campaigns and demonstrating economic incentives of conservation.



Watershed Planning: Projects that develop plans to improve protection and/or restoration of water quality and natural resources. Priority is given to projects that develop locally supported watershed management plans or land conservation strategies, or projects that develop/revise codes and ordinances to protect land and water sources or promote innovative stormwater management.