NRCS Provides $5 Million in Grants to Protect Water Quality

(June 2008) -- The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) will award $5 million in Conservation Innovation Grants to 11 projects throughout the Chesapeake Bay watershed to protect water quality, recycle nutrients and improve wildlife habitat.

Conservation Innovation Grants are competitive grants to state and local governments, non-governmental organizations and individuals to promote the development and adoption of innovative conservation approaches and technologies.

In addition to their contributions to habitat and water quality, this year’s projects will address emerging natural resource issues, such as energy conservation and market-based approaches to conservation.

The 11 projects are:

• American Farmland Trust, Chesapeake Bay Water Quality Initiative ($650,000; Maryland, Virginia and Pennsylvania)
• Caroline County Soil Conservation District, Managing Poultry-Source Nutrient Delivery ($188,100; Maryland)
• Chesapeake Bay Foundation, The Chesapeake Nutrient Neutral Fund ($500,000; Watershedwide)
• Pinchot Institute for Conservation, Implementing the Bay Bank ($450,000; Delaware and Maryland)
• Trout Unlimited, Phosphorus Control in Farm Waste Management ($254,034; Pennsylvania)
• University of Delaware, Nitrogen Management During Corn Production ($550,000; Delaware and Maryland)
• University of Maryland Wye Research and Education Center, Switchgrass Environmental Benefits ($300,000; Maryland)
• University of Pennsylvania, Integrated Nutrient Management Program ($607,866; Pennsylvania)
• Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Warm Season Grasses as Cash Crop for Farmers ($750,000; Virginia)
• West Virginia University Research Corp., Cacapon Watershed Restoration Collaboration ($650,000; West Virginia)
• Windview Farm, Manure Gasification Hot Water Project ($100,000; Pennsylvania)

Read more information about this year’s Conservation Innovation Grants from NRCS.