The Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay recently received awards totaling over $1.8 million from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) through its Chesapeake Bay Stewardship Fund. With these awards, the Alliance will expand our impact through our Forests and Agriculture Programs in Maryland and south central Pennsylvania. Details regarding these projects that we’ll be working on are highlighted below.


Little Beaver Creek Stream and Riparian Buffer Restoration
Partnering with TeamAg Inc, the Alliance will conduct an initial feasibility analysis and planning efforts on the highly eroded stream banks of a 1,275 foot segment of Little Beaver Creek, which runs through farm property owned in Strasburg Township, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. This effort will outline the implementation scope, permitting requirements, and estimated installation costs which will address streambank erosion on-site.

Expanding Tree Canopy in Charles County
The Alliance will improve local water quality and habitat in Charles County, Maryland through reforestation planning and implementation efforts. This project will create an Urban Tree Canopy Plan with local organizations and government agencies, train 40 Chesapeake Tree Stewards, expand the urban tree canopy by planting 75 native trees in the Town of La Plata, and reforest 55 acres of land with native trees throughout Charles County.

Turkey Hill Clean Water Partnership: Continued Momentum for Market-Driven Conservation Action
Continuing to build upon our Turkey Hill Clean Water Partnership, the Alliance will collaborate with Turkey Hill Dairy and the Maryland and Virginia Milk Producers Cooperative Association to support the farmers that supply milk to Turkey Hill Dairy by planning and installing conservation practices. This project will accelerate implementation and continues to build upon the existing successful model that started in 2016.

Healthy Streams Farm Stewardship: Chesapeake Logperch Initiative
The Alliance will work with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and other partners to develop and pilot a conservation incentive program that accelerates the adoption and establishment of riparian forest buffers by agricultural producers. The work will focus in the Susquehanna Basin of York County, Pennsylvania and Cecil and Harford counties in Maryland. This effort will multiply the amount of implementation of agricultural best management practices, restore 160 acres of riparian forest habitat, and improve the in-stream habitat and passage specifically for the threatened Chesapeake logperch.

Restoring the Octoraro Reservoir: Continued Plain Sect Conservation Action
Alongside partners of the Octoraro Source Water Collaborative, the Alliance will achieve pollutant reductions in subwatersheds contributing to drinking water supplies in the Octoraro Creek Watershed through outreach and agricultural best management practices installation on Plain Sect farms. The project will prioritize farms and agricultural best management practices based on their nitrogen reduction potential, which impacts the water supply of over 250,000 individuals in Pennsylvania.

As part of the Keystone 10 Million Trees Partnership, the Alliance will also be working on the Accelerating Riparian Forest Buffer Implementation in Priority Pennsylvania Counties project. This project is led by the Chesapeake Bay Foundation and was also awarded through the Chesapeake Bay Stewardship Fund.

NFWF, in partnership with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Chesapeake Bay Program, announced awards totaling $18.06 million across the Chesapeake Bay Watershed, including those highlighted above. The complete list of projects is accessible here.