Dear Chesapeake Bay Community Partners,

The Chesapeake Bay Trust and the Maryland Departments of Natural Resources and Environment welcome requests from local governments and non-profit organizations for assistance with the earliest phases of watershed restoration projects.

Two tracks are offered within the Watershed Assistance Grant Program: the Project Design track and the Watershed Planning and Program Development track.

  • The Design Track provides funding to create buildable designs for specific watershed restoration projects identified in the WIP Milestone commitments submitted or anticipated to be submitted to MDE by local jurisdictions.
    • Examples: bioretention cells, large-scale rain gardens, other low impact development stormwater techniques, environmental site designs, stream restoration, wetland and marsh creation, and any of the suite of agricultural water quality best management practices.
  • The Watershed Planning and Program Development Track provides funding for specific projects identified in the Programmatic Milestones submitted to MDE by local jurisdictions or anticipated to be submitted to MDE in the 2018-2019 milestones.
    • Examples: watershed planning (watershed characterization/assessment phase, watershed action plans), projects addressing legal authority development or enhancement, organizational enhancement, or resource enhancement.

Funding requests will generally be less than $75,000. Stream restoration design projects may request up to $200,000. The deadline to submit proposals is September 22, 2017, 5 PM. Please visit the Watershed Assistance Grant Program webpage for more information about the program. For project guidance, please contact Emily Stransky at EStransky@cbtrust.org. The Trust looks forward to hearing your project ideas!