Funds Available for Chesapeake Bay Restoration Efforts
by Johanna Laderman
October 18, 2007—Alexandria, VA—The FishAmerica Foundation, in partnership with the Chesapeake Bay Trust, is accepting proposals for community-based fisheries restoration projects in the Chesapeake Bay watershed of Maryland with up to $100,000 in funding available for fiscal year 2008.
Maryland-based sportfishing clubs and conservation organizations working in the Chesapeake Bay watershed are asked to submit proposals by December 7, 2007. Grants of up to $35,000 will be awarded in February 2008. Eligible projects include fish passage enhancement, instream habitat restoration, riparian restoration, streambank stabilization and wetland creation and improvement. Interested organizations can find the application packet at www.fishamerica.org.
In 2002, FishAmerica united with the Chesapeake Bay Trust, a private, non-profit grant-making organization dedicated to the protection and restoration of the Chesapeake Bay, in an agreement that dedicates $100,000 annually to restore fish and habitat, improve water quality and enhance fish stocks in this ecologically-critical bay and its tributary rivers in Maryland.
“Our partnership with the Chesapeake Bay Trust has awarded more than $175,000 restoring nearly 20 acres of fisheries habitat in the Chesapeake Bay watershed,” said Johanna Laderman, executive director. “These projects provide the perfect opportunities for the Bay’s nearly 370,000 resident and non-resident anglers to make a positive impact on the Bay’s fisheries.”
FishAmerica and the Trust share a common mission: empowering local communities, maximizing existing partnerships and leveraging new opportunities to restore some of the nation’s most prized fisheries and valuable waterways in the Chesapeake Bay watershed.
The FishAmerica Foundation is the conservation and research foundation of the American Sportfishing Association. FishAmerica unites the sportfishing industry with conservation groups, government agencies, fishing tournaments, corporations and charitable foundations, investing in fisheries conservation and research across the country. FishAmerica provides matching grants that empower citizen conservationists in their own communities. Since 1983, FishAmerica has provided more than $9 million for more than 900 fisheries conservation and research projects nationwide.
