The action awards federal funds of $15,000,000 to fully fund the award

This federal Project Grant award of $15 million from the Environmental Protection Agency Region 3 provides funding for the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation to administer the Small Watershed Grant Program under the Geographic Programs - Chesapeake Bay Program (CFDA #66.466). NFWF will implement an annual competitive subaward program through 2027 to fund on-the-ground watershed protection and restoration projects across the Chesapeake Bay watershed. Specifically, NFWF will award subgrants totaling $15 million to support habitat restoration, agricultural conservation practices, green infrastructure implementation, and other activities designed to improve local water quality and achieve the goals of the 2014 Chesapeake Bay Agreement. A total of 27 subawards were outlined totaling over $15 million to organizations across the six Chesapeake Bay watershed states for various habitat restoration, agricultural best management practices, green infrastructure installations, and other water quality improvement efforts.

The infrastructure investment and jobs act (commonly referred to as the bipartisan infrastructure law) is funding this cooperative agreement to demonstrate effective techniques and partnership-building to achieve the objectives of the chesapeake BAY program at the small-watershed scale. Activities:the national fish and wildlife foundation (NFWF) will implement the small watershed grant (SWG) program through the development, administration, and management of an annual competitive subaward program aimed at achieving program goals. Specific activities to be performed include solicitation of innovative projects to advance watershed protection activities, evaluation of proposals, execution of subawards, and monitoring and assessment of implementation and associated impacts.subrecipient:NFWF will subaward funds to support on-the-ground implementation projects and technical assistance to build capacity for on-the-ground implementation. Outcomes:this award supports achievement of the goals and outcomes of the 2014 chesapeake BAY watershed agreement. The expected outcome is local watershed improvement necessary to support the aquatic living resources of the chesapeake BAY and its tributaries. The SWG program has developed strategies to meet communities where they are and help them access resources - whether through technical assistance, grant funding, or peer-to-peer learning -- to take the next step in advancing on the ground habitat restoration and water quality improvement projects. Beneficiaries include the chesapeake BAY program partnership, residents of the chesapeake BAY watershed, human health, and the environment.