The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service this week announced more than $17 million in funding through the Delaware Watershed Conservation Fund, in partnership with the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, for 45 conservation projects in the Delaware River watershed.
The grants will generate nearly $20.7 million in matching contributions from the grantees, providing a total conservation impact of $38 million.
Funding includes more than $4.7 million from President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law for six projects aimed at improving public access, recreational opportunities, and water quality, as well as enhancing shoreline resiliency and critical habitat.
The Delaware River watershed spans parts of Delaware, Pennsylvania, New Jersey and New York — a landscape that encompasses one of the most densely populated urban areas in the nation yet remains 50 percent forested.
Some 400 miles of the Delaware River are classified as National Wild and Scenic River, indicating their shorelines remain largely undeveloped but accessible in places by roads.
These projects supported by the Delaware Watershed Conservation Fund will benefit the millions of people who rely on the Delaware River and its tributaries by improving habitats, reducing flood risks, improving water quality, and increasing access to natural places.
Service Director Martha Williams said, “Across Delaware, Pennsylvania, New Jersey and New York, these investments convert blacktop into rain gardens, reconnect rivers and streams and use nature-based approaches to address community needs, including responding to the impacts of climate change.”
Since 2021, historic investments through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law have helped continue critical conservation work within the watershed. Funded projects create jobs, advance environmental justice, boost local economies, improve water quality, and address needs for natural resources — all while helping tackle the climate crisis.
The 2024 Bipartisan Infrastructure Law funded grants are:
• Multistate: $94,069 for building capacity for dam removals in the Delaware River watershed through trainings and workshops.
• Delaware: $500,000 for re-envisioning Rodney Reservoir Park with restored natural spaces to enhance water quality, wildlife habitat and recreation.
• New York: $779,306 for reconnecting rivers in the upper Delaware River watershed to enhance brook trout habitat and mitigating flooding.
• Pennsylvania: $1.5 million for restoring habitat and increasing equitable access to nature at Franklin Delano Roosevelt Park.
• Pennsylvania: $830,400 for improving public safety, access and water quality at Stroud Preserve.
• Pennsylvania: $1 million for implementing green stormwater infrastructure projects at four under-served elementary schools in Philadelphia.
The total funding also includes $347,450 from the USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service for projects such as collaborative forest management in New York and Pennsylvania. This project, co-funded between the Service and USDA-NRCS, is part of a new federal partnership to support conservation efforts on working lands.
By investing in partner-driven conservation, the Service and its partners bolster local economies and communities and demonstrate the importance of caring for lands and waters to support lives and livelihoods.