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Chesapeake Bay Program
A Watershed Partnership
The Chesapeake Bay
Targeted Watersheds Grant
Program provides financial
and technical support to
projects that expand the
collective knowledge on the
most innovative, sustainable
and cost-effective strategies
for reducing excess nutrient
pollution within specific
tributaries of the
Chesapeake Bay.
The Program is a
partnership among the
Chesapeake Bay Program,
the National Fish & Wildlife
Foundation, the Chesapeake
Bay Trust and the
Environmental Protection
Agency.
Chesapeake Bay
Targeted Watersheds Grant Program
2006 Chesapeake Bay Targeted Watersheds Grants
Crop Management Projects
Regional Nutrient Use Efficiency in the Lower Susquehanna River Basin
Environmental Defense
Lancaster and Chester Counties, Pennsylvania; Cecil County, Maryland
Targeted Watersheds Grant: $582,500
Partner Contributions: $260,600
Environmental Defense will work directly with 350 farmers in the Lower Susquehanna
River Basin to improve on-farm nutrient use efficiency, including Plain Sect farmers who
may be reluctant to participate in government-sponsored programs. The Initiative will
demonstrate sustained yields with reduced nutrient application, and therefore reduced
costs to farmers, through the use of three innovative, highly effective nutrient use
efficiency tools. The Initiative, which is being conducted in partnership with the Natural
Resources Conservation Service and the Lancaster County Conservation District, expects
to reduce annual nitrogen loads to the Susquehanna River by over 2 million pounds from
over 42,000 acres of farmland. The Initiative also will work to integrate a performance-
based incentive program for nutrient use efficiency into USDA's Environmental Quality
Incentives Program (EQIP).
Park the Plow for Profit: A Continuous No-Till Transition Program
Pennsylvania Dept. of Environmental Protection
Lancaster, Bedford and Bradford Counties, Pennsylvania
Targeted Watersheds Grant: $800,000
Partner Contributions: $847,500
The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection ~ in partnership with Penn
State Cooperative Extension, USDA's Natural Resources Conservation Service, the
Capital Area RC&D Council, the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, and the Pennsylvania
Environmental Council ~ will facilitate the conversion of 12,750 acres of cropland to
continuous no-till agriculture. This conversion will reduce the annual nitrogen load to the
Susquehanna River by over 99,000 pounds, and the annual phosphorous load by over
17,000 pounds. Certified Crop Advisors will work with farmers within the Middle, Indian
and Cocalico watersheds of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania to develop individual crop
management plans and facilitate the transition to continuous no-till. Qualified farmers
then will be offered nutrient reduction credits that will be made available for sale to
regulated point sources as part of the emerging Pennsylvania nutrient trading program in
the Chesapeake Bay Watershed.
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Innovative BMP Strategies in the Choptank River Watershed
Maryland Department of Agriculture
Caroline County, Maryland
Targeted Watersheds Grant: $596,600
Chesapeake Bay Trust: $200,000
Partner Contributions: $1,096,000
The Maryland Department of Agriculture, in collaboration with the Agricultural Research Service
Beltsville, the Caroline Soil Conservation District, the Natural Resource Conservation Service, the
University of Maryland Extension Service, and Public Drainage Associations, will work with farmers in
the Choptank River watershed to increase agricultural BMP implementation to reduce nutrient and
sediment loads. The project includes developing a user-friendly BMP planning tool to help identify the
most cost-effective opportunities for implementing BMPs. The project specifically will help implement
and monitor the effectiveness of traditional cover crops, commodity cover crops, and drainage control
structures in reducing nutrient loads. The project expects to reduce annual nitrogen pollution to the
Tuckahoe sub-basin by over 31,000 pounds.
Manure and Poultry Litter Management Projects
Cost Effective Nutrient Reduction in the Upper Susquehanna River Watershed
Upper Susquehanna Coalition
New York
Targeted Watersheds Grant: $500,000
Partner Contributions: $607,841
The Upper Susquehanna Coalition will integrate innovative prescribed grazing with riparian preservation
and restoration approaches on agricultural land in the Upper Susquehanna River Watershed. The project
will use a Grazing Advocates program to develop grazing plans, promote livestock exclusion from
waterways, and identify opportunities for wetland and buffer restoration. The project will monitor and
evaluate the cumulative impact on water quality of implementing prescribed grazing on 2900 acres,
creating 100 acres of riparian buffers and 10 miles of livestock exclusion, along with 70 acres of wetland
and riparian restoration. The project expects to reduce annual nutrient pollution to the Upper Susquehann
River by over 43,000 pounds of nitrogen and 4,000 pounds of phosphorous. The Upper Susquehanna
Coalition is a network of county natural resource professionals comprised of representatives from 15
counties to address water quality issues in the headwaters of the Susquehanna River and the Chesapeake
Bay watershed.
Enhancing Nutrient Efficiencies on Dairy Farms in the Monocacy River Watershed
University of Maryland
Frederick, Carroll and Montgomery Counties, Maryland; Adams County, Pennsylvania
Targeted Watersheds Grant: $798,300
Chesapeake Bay Trust: $200,000
Partner Contributions: $585,680
The University of Maryland, working in partnership with the Maryland Department of Agriculture and
the Adams County Conservation District, will demonstrate the comprehensive use of three key
management strategies to reduce nutrient losses from dairy farms in the Monocacy watershed by as much
as 30-40%. The project includes: working directly with at least 20 farms to adopt precision feeding to
reduce nitrogen and phosphorous overfeeding; developing a manure clearinghouse to broker the exchange
of manure between farm that have excess manure and those that need manure to fertilize crops; and,
encouraging early cover crop seeding to maximize their environmental benefits through farm-friendly
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delivery systems such as aerial planting. The project expects to reduce annual nitrogen pollution to the
Monocacy River by close to 250,000 pounds.
North River Watershed: Utilizing and Exporting Shenandoah Valley Organic Resources
Virginia Waste Solutions Forum
Rockingham County, Virginia
Targeted Watersheds Grant: $1,000,000
Partner Contributions: $331,001
As an outgrowth of the 2005 Waste Solutions Forum, this diverse partnership - including Virginia Tech,
the Virginia Poultry Federation, the Dairy Foundation of Virginia, the Shenandoah RC&D Council, and
the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, to name a few - will demonstrate a comprehensive and innovative
approach to managing excess animal manure and poultry litter in the North River Watershed of the
Shenandoah Valley. This initiative will 1) generate revenue from manure on poultry farms via bioenergy
production, 2) decrease the cost of manure transport through nutrient concentration technologies, and 3)
increase markets for manure. The project expects to reduce annual nitrogen pollution to the North River
by over 6.3 million pounds, and annual phosphorous pollution by over 6.8 million pounds.
Urban/Suburban Stormwater Management Projects
Corsica River Watershed: A Community Response to Pollution Runoff
Chesapeake Bay Recovery Partnership
Queen Anne County, Maryland
Targeted Watersheds Grant: $600,000
Chesapeake Bay Trust: $200,000
Partner Contributions: $250,000
This project, which is a partnership among the Chesapeake Bay Recovery Partnership, the Alliance for
the Chesapeake Bay and the Maryland Department of Natural Resources, seeks to effectively address
urban and suburban stormwater runoff in the Corsica River watershed by engaging residents in
implementing non structural best management practices. The Partnership will conduct a targeted
education and outreach campaign to raise awareness about the sources of stormwater runoff and relevant
Best Management Practices. The Partnership also will help private land owners gain access to technical
and financial resources to implement BMPs such as wetland restoration, biorentention projects, grassed
swale improvements, reforestation, and pollution prevention activities. The project will result in the
treatment of 50 acres of urban/suburban lands through the integration of 200 innovative non-structural
BMPs on privately held lands, as well as restore 10 acres of wetlands and create of 50 acres of riparian
buffers.
Paxton Creek Watershed: Stormwater Management for Pennsylvania Communities
Susquehanna River Basin Commission
Dauphin County, Pennsylvania
Targeted Watersheds Grant: $725,000
Partner Contributions: $735,800
Using the Paxton Creek Watershed as a model, this project will develop a multi-jurisdictional stormwater
management structure spanning several municipalities in the greater Harrisburg area. To test the
management structure and address water quality impacts, the initiative also will implement five
stormwater demonstration projects that are supported by and funded through public-private partnerships.
The demonstration projects include: 1) restoring a wetland corridor and establishing a wetland complex in
a residential neighborhood; 2) establishing a recreational "greenspace" with bioretention measures and a
riparian corridor on a former brownfield site; 3) implement biorention measures for a large parking lot
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and restore a degraded stream channel at the Pennsylvania State Police headquarters; 4) implement a
partial offline creek treatment system to treat runoff from a major Interstate interchange; and 5) restore a
riparian wetland corridor and establish bioretention measures to capture drainage from hardened
elements of a city park. The demonstration projects combined will treat runoff from over 30 acres, and
will restore and stabilize 4,000 feet of stream corridor. This effort represents a diverse partnership
including the Susquehanna River Basin Commission, the Paxton Creek Watershed and Education
Association, the Harrisburg Area Community College, the Dauphin County Conservation District, the
local water authority, several local governments, and a local developer.
Market-Based Incentive Projects
Effective Strategies for Reducing Nutrient Loads in the Opequon Creek Watershed
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
Frederick and Clarke Counties, Virginia; Berkley and Jefferson Counties, West Virginia
Targeted Watersheds Grant: $1,000,000
Partner Contributions: $350,400
A broad-based partnership, including Virginia Tech, West Virginia University, the Frederick-Winchester
Service Authority, as well as federal, state and local governments, community groups and business
interests, will use proven and innovative best management practices to accelerate nutrient reduction in the
Opequon Creek Watershed. The Opequon faces a combination of agricultural and urban nonpoint source
loads and a wastewater treatment plant that is in urgent need of expansion capacity. BMPs to be
implemented include: creating or enhancing ten wetlands - including floodplain and pocket wetlands;
creating six water quality swales; and, installing 32,000 feet of stream fencing. The project expects to
reduce annual nitrogen pollution to Opequon Creek by 108,000 pounds, and annual phosphorous
pollution by 13,500 pounds. The project will result in a plan for the Frederick-Winchester Service
Authority to obtain nutrient offset credits for wastewater treatment plan expansion.
Nutrient Assimilation Credits: Opportunities for Enhanced Oyster Production
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University and Virginia Commonwealth University
St. Mary's County, Maryland; Northumberland County and Newport News, Virginia
Targeted Watersheds Grant: $540,000
Partner Contributions: $189,382
Virginia Tech is partnering with Virginia Commonwealth University and two oyster producers to
demonstrate and assess the potential for commercial oyster production to be credited with water quality
improvements under Chesapeake Bay water quality trading and offset programs. The project will develop
the quantification and verification protocols necessary for the production and sale of nutrient assimilation
credits produced by high density native oyster cultivation and harvest. Four demonstration sites will be
installed and monitored - two in Maryland (St. Jerome Creek and St. Thomas Creek in St. Mary's
County) and two in Virginia (Spencer's Creek in Northumberland County and Lucas Creek in Newport
News).
For more information visit http://www.njwf.org or contact Amanda Bassow at amanda.bassow@njwf.org
or (202) 857-0166.
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