$575,000 in federal funding announced for habitat restoration projects along Chesapeake Bay’s Eastern Shore

DELMARVA – Senators Chris Van Hollen and Ben Cardin both announced on Thursday $575,000 in federal funding through the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for two wildlife habitat restoration projects along the Eastern Shore of the Chesapeake Bay.

These are among the first grants to be awarded from the Chesapeake WILD Program, which was funded at $4 million in fiscal year 2022.

The grants have been awarded as follows:

• $500,000 for Eastern Shore Land Conservancy’s Blackwater-Nanticoke Habitat Migration Corridor Protection: The Eastern Shore Land Conservancy proposes to conduct outreach and complete conservation easements in the identified region to assist with the wildlife habitat migration between the Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge and the Nanticoke River. Based on existing prices and availability of matching dollars, ESLC plans to protect between 350 and 400 acres of strategic wildlife habitat in Dorchester County
• $75,000 for the restoration of Northwest Creek, Kent Island: Northwest Creek is a 100-acre formal tidal inlet on Kent Island that has been plagued with deteriorating water quality. The restoration project will create new habitat for shallow water fish species and protected breeding grounds for other wildlife via the creation of 15 acres of spartina islands, 8 acres of living shorelines, and 4 acres of marsh habitat