Deadline: 15-Nov-21
The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) is soliciting proposals under the 2022 Innovative Nutrient and Sediment Reduction Grants (INSR) program to accelerate the rate and scale of water quality improvements specifically through the coordinated and collaborative efforts of sustainable, regional-scale1 partnerships in implementing proven water quality improvement practices more cost-effectively.
Projects proposing to implement water quality improvement projects or practices at the pilot or demonstration scale, through ad-hoc project-scale partnerships, or via small-scale applications of new or innovative technologies are encouraged to apply for funding through the separate Small Watershed Grants (SWG) program.
NFWF, in partnership with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the federal-state Chesapeake Bay Program (CBP) partnership, is soliciting proposals to restore water quality and habitats of the Chesapeake Bay and its tributary rivers and streams.
Approaches
Special consideration will be afforded to proposed partnerships or networks that address one or more of the following specific strategies with the potential to advance transformational water quality improvement approaches:
- Managing Upland Agricultural Runoff through Farm-Scale Conservation Systems and Solutions: Includes efforts to reduce water quality impacts while simultaneously maintaining or increasing profits, reducing costs, and enhancing financial performance of the region’s farms through the implementation of best management practices that reduce pollution at the farm scale, increase cost-efficiency, and increase performance.
- Managing Upland Urban Runoff through Green Stormwater Infrastructure Improvements (GSI): Includes efforts to assist local governments, nonprofit organizations, and community associations to improve urban and suburban stormwater management by implementing upland, green stormwater infrastructure practices that capture, store, filter, and treat stormwater runoff.
- Restoring Riparian and Freshwater Habitats through Forested Buffers, Floodplain and Wetland Reconnection, Stream Restoration and Habitat Improvements: Includes efforts to restore degraded riparian systems to improve water quality, enhance aquatic habitat, and increase fish populations across the Chesapeake Bay region.
- Conservation Finance and Market Development to Accelerate Water Quality Improvements: US EPA and the Chesapeake Bay Program partnership are increasingly looking towards conservation finance and environmental market development as strategies to help meet Bay TMDL goals by bringing additional or new revenues for watershed restoration, streamlining or reducing costs of restoration, and increasing case h flows and liquidity for on-the-ground implementation efforts.
Funding Information
NFWF will award a total of $ 7-10 million in grants through the INSR program in 2022. Awards will range from $ 500,000 to $ 1 million each, for an estimated 8-12 individual grant awards. These grants require non-federal matching contributions equal to the grant request. All 2022 INSR grants must be completed within three years of grant award.
Eligibility Criteria
- Eligible applicants include non-profit 501(c) organizations, state government agencies, local governments, municipal governments, Tribal governments and organizations, and educational institutions.
- Ineligible applicants include US federal government agencies, businesses, unincorporated individuals, and international organizations.
For more information, visit https://www.nfwf.org/programs/chesapeake-bay-stewardship-fund/innovative-nutrient-and-sediment-reduction-grants-2022-request-proposals
