Through the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF), the Catoctin Land Trust (CLT) has received over $1.1 Million for restoring and conserving the Chesapeake Bay Watershed in the Heart of Maryland. The Catoctin Land Trust received funding through the Small Watersheds Grants (SWG) and Innovative Nutrient and Sediment Reduction (INSR) programs to support projects in Frederick and Washington County in Maryland and parts of Franklin County, PA. Both grants further the Heart of Maryland Collaborative, a network of more than 30 organizations working across Frederick and Washington County, which collaborates in priority tributary streams to restore our waterways and preserve land critical to clean water and wildlife.
The INSR grant focuses on implementing restoration projects in the Antietam Creek Watershed and building capacity in the Catoctin Creek and Monocacy River Watersheds. Antietam Creek is listed on Maryland’s 303(d) list of impaired waterways due to elevated levels of total nitrogen, total phosphorus, and total suspended solids. Projects in the Antietam Creek watershed will restore 100 acres of riparian and upland forests. In the Frederick County watersheds, CLT will focus on building collaborative capacity to expand outreach to landowners and connect partners to project sites. The SWG grant continues to expand the Heart of Maryland Collaborative’s capacity and activates the network to identify project sites for funding. CLT will accomplish this by formalizing our partnerships, holding outreach events, and updating our strategic plan. We will advance landscape-scale watershed and habitat restoration and build a pipeline of up to 20 future watershed restoration projects.
Funding for the Chesapeake Bay Watershed remains critical to improving the lives of the nearly 18 million people and the millions of wildlife, plants, and other creatures who call the Chesapeake Bay home. The Catoctin Land Trust remains committed to supporting conservation and restoration of the watershed by expanding our collective impact in western Maryland.