{"id":84080,"date":"2024-08-27T19:17:05","date_gmt":"2024-08-27T19:17:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pakistaninewspaperlist.com\/news\/usfws-and-nfwf-announce-8-9-million-to-restore-and-conserve-habitats-in-chesapeake-bay-watershed\/"},"modified":"2024-08-27T19:17:05","modified_gmt":"2024-08-27T19:17:05","slug":"usfws-and-nfwf-announce-8-9-million-to-restore-and-conserve-habitats-in-chesapeake-bay-watershed","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pakistaninewspaperlist.com\/news\/usfws-and-nfwf-announce-8-9-million-to-restore-and-conserve-habitats-in-chesapeake-bay-watershed\/","title":{"rendered":"USFWS and NFWF Announce $8.9 Million to Restore and Conserve Habitats in Chesapeake Bay Watershed"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Washington, D.C., Aug. 27, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Today the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation announced 30 grants totaling $8.9 million to support wildlife habitat, climate resilience, community conservation partnerships and equitable access to nature in the Chesapeake Bay watershed.\u00a0<\/p>\n

This year\u2019s slate of grants will advance the goals of the Chesapeake Watershed Investments in Landscape Defense (Chesapeake WILD) Program and leverage more than $13.7 million in grantee matching funds, for a total conservation impact of $22.6 million. The awards announced today will conserve more than 10,000 acres of fish and wildlife habitat, increase recreational access to 2,000 acres, restore nearly 100 miles of streamside forest habitat, and reconnect more than 1,500 miles of aquatic habitat for migratory fish species.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThese funds help support partner-driven, locally led projects to improve water quality, enhance climate resilience, support conservation needs in vulnerable communities, and benefit residents and wildlife across the watershed now and well into the future,\u201d said Service Director Martha Williams. \u201cThese investments help support a future for the Chesapeake Watershed where people and nature thrive in an interconnected way and where every community benefits from being part of a healthy watershed.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Chesapeake Bay is the largest estuary in the U.S. and home to thousands of species of plants and animals. Nearly one million waterfowl winter on and near the bay each year \u2014 approximately one-third of the Atlantic Coast\u2019s migratory population. More than 18 million people live and work in the Chesapeake Bay region, many depending on industries tied to the health of the watershed, like outdoor recreation, farming and fishing.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Chesapeake WILD program fulfills a common goal between NFWF and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to conserve, steward, and enhance fish and wildlife habitats and related conservation values in the Chesapeake Bay watershed,\u201d said Jeff Trandahl, executive director and chief executive officer of NFWF. \u201cIn marrying our legacy of partnership with the Service and our deep and lasting commitments to Chesapeake Bay watershed restoration, the WILD program presents new avenues to accelerate species and habitat restoration and conservation and community engagement in conservation across the region.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Chesapeake WILD program was established to support collaborative conservation in the watershed and provide grant funding for community-driven projects that align with five interrelated focal areas for sustaining the health of the watershed and its inhabitants into the future: \u00a0<\/p>\n