The Daily Tell

Grants were awarded recently that will help the waterways around Chesapeake Bay.

The $2.8 million in grants were awarded by Chesapeake Bay Small Watershed Grants Program and the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation to 32 organizations. The goal of the grants is to help clean up and preserves the water that flows into the bay.

Chesapeake Bay Program Director Jeffrey Lape noted that the 32 organizations will have a positive impact on the area’s watershed.

"This year’s projects will restore 620 acres of wetlands, plant 32 rain gardens and 172 acres of streamside forest buffers, and fence off 23 miles of streams to exclude livestock," Lape said.

The Piedmont Environmental Council received a $75,000 grant, which the organization will use to create incentives for farmers to install fencing and forest buffers along the Upper Hazelnut River in Virginia. The fences and buffers will keep livestock away from the river.

A $75,000 grant was given to the GreenTreks Network and will be used for a marketing campaign. Through the use of video, the Reign in the Rain campaign will encourage people to practice measures that will reduce the amount of polluted runoff that flows into the waterways near Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.

Ducks Unlimited got a grant of $20,333 in order to restore wetlands in Delaware. In all, the money will be used to help 473 acres of wetlands, including 84 acres of rare Atlantic White cedars.

The Small Watershed Grants Program has awarded $23.6 million since 2000. Some of that money has been used to procure other funds, which means the program has helped Chesapeake Bay waterways to the tune of more than $92 million.

The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation is a nonprofit organization that was established by Congress in 1984. The goal of the organization is to help natural habitats and species native to the country through raising funds by public and private means.