$35 million in grants given for Delaware River watershed protection in Philly, South Jersey
Funds will go to 36 conservation projects, including local trail creations, stream restorations, shoreline enhancements, and wildlife habitat improvements.
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Federal and private matching grants totaling nearly $35 million were announced Thursday for Delaware River Watershed conservation projects, including a water trail in Camden, a possible South Philadelphia wetlands park, and a 5,400-square-foot floating workshop at Fairmount Water Works.
The money comes from nearly $15 million in grants from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and $20 million in matching funds from groups such as Philadelphia-based William Penn Foundation.
In all, funds will flow to 36 conservation projects, including local trail creations, stream restorations, shoreline enhancements, and wildlife habitat improvements. The money will go toward planning, hiring, and construction of projects in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, and New York.
Jeff Trandahl, executive director and CEO of NFWF, said in a news release on the grants that the projects “continue the remarkable progress” in cleaning up the watershed, which provides drinking water for nearly 15 million people.
“The Delaware River’s diverse watershed, which flows through nearly 330 miles of the mid-Atlantic region … provides vital habitat for important wildlife species, including threatened red knots and vulnerable salt marsh sparrow, forest birds rebounding from decline, as well as previously abundant fish such as river herring, American shad and eastern brook trout,” Trandahl said.
Martha Williams, director of the U.S Fish and Wildlife Service, said $4.5 million of the federal money came from the federal Infrastructure Law that President Joe Biden signed into law in 2021. Overall, the law is generating $26 million for the watershed over five years.
“By addressing conservation and resiliency needs head-on, we demonstrate the necessity and importance of caring for lands and waters and for those who share a connection to the watershed,” Williams said,
Stuart Clarke, program director for watershed protection at the William Penn Foundation, called the grants critical for “people and organizations working every day to advance conservation and restoration initiatives.”
Here’s how some of the grants will be used
Pennsylvania
$300,000 to the Delaware River Waterfront Corp. for designing and planning a South Philadelphia Wetlands Park just south of the base of Tasker Street through Pier 70 Boulevard. Funds will go toward environmental assessments and permitting needed to advance the project, which calls for a park featuring restored wetlands set amid old piers.
$455,700 to the Fund for the Water Works to plan and design a 5,450-square-foot floating water workshop on the Schuylkill at Fairmount Water Works. The project “will serve as a unique waterfront field station and learning center that will improve recreational access and educational opportunities for the community.”
$6.3 million to Fairmount Park Conservancy for Shedbrook Creek Restoration and Sedge Meadow improvement at FDR Park in South Philadelphia. Funds will go toward creating six acres of waterway habitat, increasing tree canopy, and converting fragmented wetlands into a sedge meadow ecosystem to enhance fish and wildlife habitat, provide new public access, and increase the park’s flood storage capacity.
$1.4 million to Radnor Township, Delaware County, to remove contaminated soil, manage storm water, and plant more than 1,300 trees in the West Wayne Preserve Friends of Radnor Trail in Wayne.
New Jersey
$2 million to Upstrean Alliance to develop a water trail and recreational programming in Camden. Funds would be used to establish hands-on recreational programming, hire local youth, support increased public access on the Cooper River, and work toward restoring wild celery.
$2 million to American Littoral Society for restoring critical habitat for horseshoe crabs and red knot birds. Funds would advance conservation and restoration of Delaware Bayshore critical beach habitat by reducing erosion and increasing resilience to storms and climate change by restoring two vulnerable and highly valuable sites, and include four structures and restoration of 3,000 feet of shoreline at Fortescue Beach and Thompsons Beach.
$540,900 to Ducks Unlimited to hire a biologist and partner with the New Jersey Natural Resources Conservation Service. Funds would go toward outreach to private landowners and agricultural producers on best management practices and planning and to facilitate enrollment and participation in voluntary conservation programs on 10,000 acres in South Jersey.
Delaware
$427,400 to Delaware Nature Society to enhance Wilmington’s urban pollinator corridor. Funds would go toward installing 27 community gardens and pollinator habitat projects with educational workshops and activities, while developing urban gardeners.
$455,900 to Partnership for the Delaware Estuary to implement a 300-foot living shoreline and riparian habitat restoration project as part of a restoration initiative for the Christina and Brandywine watersheds. Funds will go toward design and permitting of the living shoreline at the Kalmar Nyckel site and including a freshwater mussel demonstration installation.