The Chesapeake Watershed Investments for Landscape Defense (Chesapeake WILD) Grants program supports efforts to conserve and enhance wildlife habitats, sustain natural resources and benefit human communities throughout the Chesapeake Bay watershed. Goals: Advancing climate change adaptation and land-use planning by increasing science capacity to support improved strategic planning, conservation design, monitoring and applied science activities necessary to ensure resilience of natural ecosystems and habitats; Increasing capacity and support for coordinated restoration and conservation activities in the Chesapeake Bay watershed, particularly in historically and systemically under-resourced communities, through outreach, education, and civic engagement; Enhancing recreational opportunities and public access, with a strong emphasis on equitable access to nature and all associated benefits, consistent with the ecological needs of fish and wildlife habitats; Improving and sustaining water quality, upgrading water management capability, and reducing flood damage to support fish and wildlife, habitats of fish and wildlife, and drinking water for people.
Conserving, restoring, enhancing and sustaining a resilient network of fish and wildlife habitats and connecting corridors, with an emphasis on at-risk and federally listed species and habitats. Chesapeake WILD invested $3.5 million into 12 projects, leveraging $4.3 million in local matching funds to generate a total conservation impact of $7.8 million. These investments will permanently protect 3,320 acres of critical fish and wildlife habitat, restore 947 acres of forest and marsh habitat and restore 21 miles of freshwater habitat.
