[title class=”acb-page-content-subtitle ” ]Alliance Partnership Will Help Improve Local Drinking Water And The Chesapeake BayANNAPOLIS, MD, January 2015 – The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Natural Resource Conservation Service has awarded the Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay $1.5 million in federal financial and technical assistance through the Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP). The Alliance with its partners Stroud Water Research Center, Conservation Districts, Baltimore County, City of Baltimore, Glatfelter Pulpwood Company, and the Maryland Forest Service will accelerate the adoption of priority conservation practices including the restoration of forests and riparian buffers that protect drinking water, improve water quality and fish and wildlife habitats in the Chesapeake Bay watershed.

Known as the Mason-Dixon Working Lands Partnership, this new project will leverage federal assistance with private incentives to maximize impact. While available to farmers and woodland owners in watersheds along the Maryland-Pennsylvania border, the Partnership will focus its efforts in the Prettyboy Watershed Reservoir to protect drinking water quality and forest health.

“Building local partnerships is a key part of all our work,” said Al Todd, Executive Director for the Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay. “With this funding, we will be able to bring both technical and financial support to farmers and woodland owners and help them plan and implement important watershed conservation projects.”About The Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay

Founded in 1971,the Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay, with headquarters in Annapolis, MD and offices in Pennsylvania and Virginia, works throughout the Bay watershed to lead, inspire and support individuals, communities, governments, businesses, and other environmental groups restore the Bay and its watershed forests, rivers and streams through local action and hands on programs.

For more information on about the Alliance, visit: allianceforthebay.org