The 72 grants will leverage nearly $31 million in non-federal matching contributions to generate a total conservation impact of $75 million.
The grants were awarded through the Chesapeake Bay Innovative Nutrient and Sediment Reduction (INSR) Grants and Small Watershed Grants (SWG) programs.
Examples of this year’s grant recipients include:
-- Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay ($171,500): Fifteen upland acres of marginal agricultural land will be converted to forest, demonstrating the feasibility and efficiency of upland forest planting to meet water quality goals.
-- The Nature Conservancy ($1,600,000): Water quality and community resilience will be accelerated in the Cocalico Creek watershed through the restoration of 1,285 linear feet of stream, five acres of wetlands and five acres of floodplain.
-- Stroud Water Research Center ($1,999,958): This project will accelerate the installation of forested buffers and livestock inclusion practices by installing buffers at 45 farm sites, resulting in almost 16 miles of new buffers and post-planting care.
-- The Trust for Public Land ($150,000): This project will cultivate partnerships with municipalities and school districts in northeastern Pennsylvania to expand the Community Schoolyard model as a landscape-scale, nature-based solution for more communities. It will conduct outreach to assess local feasibility and partner capacity, and support site selection and project design for expanding this approach across the region.
-- Watershed Alliance of York ($847,682): Working with landowners, this project will survey freshwater mussel communities, plant trees and implement 100 acres of riparian forest buffers, to accelerate riparian forest buffer implementation and local freshwater mussel conservation efforts.
A complete list of the 2025 Chesapeake Bay Innovative Nutrient and Sediment Reduction Grants recipients is available here.
A complete list of the 2025 Chesapeake Bay Small Watershed Grants recipients is available here.
“Both of these grant programs are part of the larger story of EPA's investments for the Chesapeake Bay,” said Amy Van Blarcom-Lackey, EPA Region 3 Administrator. “We’re making targeted investments in agricultural conservation practices, wetland and floodplain restoration, riparian buffers, and living shorelines. These investments will deliver cleaner water and healthier habitats, while fostering economic growth across the Chesapeake Bay watershed.”
“The grants announced today build upon NFWF’s decades-long history of supporting the conservation of wildlife and habitats within the Chesapeake Bay watershed,” said Jeff Trandahl, executive director and CEO of NFWF. “These grants leverage the momentum, expertise and impact cultivated among public- and private-sector partners since the launch of the Chesapeake Bay Stewardship Fund in 1999 in partnership with the EPA.
“The projects and partners supported today with these grants will engage communities in voluntary conservation efforts across the Bay watershed and accelerate progress toward healthier waterways, wildlife population and natural habitats.”
The INSR and SWG programs are key funding programs of the federal-state Chesapeake Bay Program (CBP) partnership, which are aimed at advancing measurable progress toward the commitments of CBP partners under the revised 2025 Chesapeake Bay Watershed Agreement.
Both programs provide support for conservation projects that advance regional watershed restoration efforts, help local communities clean up and restore their polluted rivers and streams, and work to restore and protect key Chesapeake Bay species and their habitats.
Click Here for the NFWF announcement.
Visit the NFWF Chesapeake Bay Stewardship Fund webpage for more information on these programs.
Related Articles This Week:
-- House Environmental Committee Told Water Quality Restoration Efforts Need To Be Better Targeted; Important ‘Emerging Contaminants’ Need To Be Addressed; Cuts In Federal Funding Slowing Progress [PaEN]
-- National Fish & Wildlife Foundation, EPA Award $44.2 Million In Chesapeake Bay Innovative Nutrient/Sediment Reduction, Small Watershed Grants; Over $19 Million In PA [PaEN]
-- Three Rivers WaterKeeper Announces Intent To Sue US Steel, Irvin Works Plant For Oil Discharges Into The Monongahela River [PaEN]
-- Bipartisan Ohio River Restoration Act Introduced In US Senate By Fetterman, Young [PaEN]
NewsClip:
-- Post-Gazette: DEP Report Finds Southwestern PA Streams Among 37% In State That Are Water Quality Impaired
[Posted: February 11, 2026] PA Environment Digest
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