Chesapeake Bay Trust
FishAmerica, in partnership with the Chesapeake
Bay Trust, provides
funding to restore fish habitat, improve water quality, and enhance
fish stocks in the Chesapeake Bay and its Maryland tributaries.
Grants awarded through this partnership fund hands-on, grassroots
projects involving community groups, students, or other volunteers.
Project types include riparian restoration; streambank stabilization;
instream habitat restoration; artificial and oyster reef restoration;
wetland creation and enhancement; and, submerged aquatic vegetation
(SAV) plantings.
Available funding is announced through a Request for Proposals
(RFP). No date has been set for the 2007 grant cycle. Please contact
FishAmerica, 703.519.9691 for more information.
2006 FAF/CBT Funded Projects
The Mason Springs Conservancy received $3,500 to restore and conserve
riparian habitat in Mason Springs in the Potomac River watershed.
The Conservancy will restore three acres of valuable shoreline
buffer habitat along upper Mattawoman Creek. The Mattawoman
Creek is a 35 mile long tributary that flows west through swampland
to form part of the border between Charles and Prince Georges
counties in Maryland. Mason Springs is a historical angling
site for river herring and yellow perch, with generations of
anglers still visiting the area.
The Chesapeake Wildlife Heritage received $27,159 to restore fisheries
habitat in the Upper Potomac River watershed. They will restore
nearly 32 acres of buffer and wetland habitat along the St. James
Run. St. James Run is in the Antietam Creek watershed of
the Upper Potomac River Basin and is home to recreational sportfishing
as well as canoeing and kayaking. Volunteers will restore
more than 20 acres of forested buffer along the stream; create
five acres of warm season grasslands; and a restore a five-acre
wetland. Students from St. James School and the local Boy
Scout troop will be recruited to assist in tree planting activities.
Volunteers will monitor and maintain the site to ensure it remains
free of invasive species.
2005 FAF/CBT Funded Projects
The Allegany Soil and Water Conservation District received $17,455
to restore fisheries habitat and water quality along Town Creek
in the upper Potomac River watershed in Allegany County. They will
install exclusionary fencing and restore riparian areas at three
separate project sites. Town Creek has a delayed harvest section
to promote catch and release fly fishing for trout, while the North
Branch of the Potomac River is an exceptional smallmouth bass fishery.
The George’s Creek Watershed Association was awarded a $25,000
grant to restore fisheries habitat in the George’s Creek
watershed in Allegany County. By stabilizing the streambank and
replanting the riparian area. The state stocks George’s Creek
and manages it as a Put & Take fishery.
The City of Annapolis received $14,861 to restore fisheries habitat
along Back Creek in Annapolis. They will remove invasive vegetation
and plant underwater grasses at the Osprey Nature Center in the
Back Creek Nature Park.
2003 FAF/CBT Funded Projects
The Anacostia Watershed Society received $13,720 to enhance fisheries
habitat in the Chesapeake Bay watershed in Bladensburg, Maryland.
They restored wetlands at four sites along the Anacostia River, a small tributary
of the Potomac River in the Washington D.C. metro area. The urban stream
system is located in one of the most densely populated areas in the United
States.
The Chesapeake Bay Environmental Center received $25,000 to create
fisheries habitat in the Chesapeake Bay watershed. The applicant
installed 120 Reef Balls® in the Cabin Creek area of the Chesapeake
Bay. The Reef Balls® will serve as hard substrate for
oyster spat to settle and colonize. Volunteers and staff
from CBEC also developed a local reef awareness program to include
fishing workshops, in-class lectures, and on-site field trips to
the reef site for monitoring.
The Maryland Environmental Service
received $25,000 to create fisheries habitat in the Chesapeake
Bay watershed. The applicant installed
225 Reef Balls® in the Taylors Island/James Island area, as
well as the Tilghman Island and Little Cove Point. The Reef
Balls® will provide fisheries habitat and serve as hard substrate
for oyster spat to settle and colonize.
The Magothy River Association received $10,775 to restore and
enhance fisheries habitat in the Chesapeake Bay. They installed
Reef Balls® at five sites in the Magothy River. The Reef
Balls® will provide fisheries habitat and serve as hard substrate
for oyster spat to settle and colonize.
The Potomac Conservancy received $16,422 to restore fisheries
habitat and water quality in the Chesapeake Bay watershed. Volunteers
restored the riparian areas of the Carroll Creek. Carroll
Creek is a tributary of the Monocacy River in the Potomac River
and Chesapeake Bay watershed. Carroll Creek is home to rainbow
trout and brown trout.
They stabilized 3,000 feet of streambanks,
planted a minimum of 1,600 trees along three acres to establish
a 50-foot riparian buffer. The
project improved water quality, enhanced instream fish habitat
and restored riparian areas.
