Land Trust Alliance and Chesapeake Bay Funders Network award grants to protect Chesapeake Bay Watershed water quality
Grant funds will support seven organizations through the 2023 Chesapeake Land and Water Initiative.
Washington — The Land Trust Alliance and the Chesapeake Bay Funders Network are pleased to announce the awarding of $60,000 to support seven organizations through the 2023 Chesapeake Land and Water Initiative. These grants will support land trusts’ varied and exceptional efforts to utilize land conservation to advance water quality goals of the Chesapeake Bay Watershed Agreement. These land trusts are leveraging CLWI grants with nearly $200,000 of their own resources.
“There is a deep connection between what happens on our land and the health of the water that flows from it,” said Andrew Szwak, the Mid-Atlantic program manager at the Land Trust Alliance. “The Chesapeake Bay Watershed spans more than 64,000 square miles, covers parts of six states and Washington, D.C., and is home to more than 18 million people. By protecting the watershed’s natural land cover and preserving forest land, we can provide natural filtration and reduce the need for costly water treatment facilities.”
Launched in 2016, the Chesapeake Land and Water Initiative is a partnership between the CBFN and Alliance to accelerate permanent land conservation and stewardship with meaningful impacts on water quality in the Bay Watershed. The Intiative envisions a “Chesapeake watershed where land conservation strategies are fully integrated and implemented in efforts to protect and restore water quality in critical watersheds, and where land trusts are fully engaged — through both strategic partnerships and collaborations, as well as their own efforts — in improving water quality in their local rivers and streams and the Chesapeake Bay.”
To date, the Chesapeake Land and Water Initiative has awarded nearly $875,000 through 45 grants and delivered nearly 40 trainings and resources to 3,000+ participants.
Proposals selected from this year’s highly competitive applicant pool include:
Cacapon & Lost Rivers Land Trust ($12,500) for coordinating and leading the Cacapon Watershed Collaborative.
Catoctin Land Trust ($12,500) for leading the Heart of Maryland Conservation Alliance’s Watershed-based plan to advance climate resiliency and Bay restoration.
Downstream Project ($7,800) for supporting the Blue Ridge Conservation Alliance.
GreenTrust Alliance ($5,000) for building community connections to climate resilient water quality projects along the Middle Branch in South Baltimore.
Harford Land Trust ($8,000) for leading the Harford County Forest Preservation Network.
Lower Shore Land Trust ($9,200) for advancing Chesapeake Bay Program goals through leadership of the Delmarva Restoration and Conservation Network.
Northcentral Pennsylvania Conservancy ($5,000) for coordinating and leading the Northcentral Stream Partnership.
Information about the Chesapeake Land and Water Initiative is available at https://landtrustalliance.org/resources/connect/field-services/mid-atlantic and by contacting Andrew Szwak, Mid-Atlantic program manager, at aszwak@lta.org.
About Land Trust Alliance:
Founded in 1982, the Land Trust Alliance is a national land conservation organization that works to save the places people need and love by strengthening land conservation across America. The Alliance represents approximately 950 member land trusts supported by more than 250,000 volunteers and 6.3 million members nationwide. The Alliance is based in Washington, D.C., and operates several regional offices. Learn more at landtrustalliance.org/.