Ducks Unlimited recently participated in a Chesapeake Bay partnership meeting with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Nature Conservancy, the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries, and the Chesapeake Bay Foundation to discuss funding opportunities through the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF). DU and its partners are developing a strategy to identify and deliver habitat enhancement projects as part of the 165,000-acre conservation goal mandated by the Chesapeake Bay Protection and Restoration Executive Order.

The Nature Conservancy has assembled and submitted a NFWF grant proposal that will allow partners to analyze the various obstacles to habitat restoration efforts and develop strategic approaches to address those obstacles. This proposal will also allow partners to develop priorities within selected watersheds and to implement targeted restoration projects. This proposal covers watersheds in four states, including Maryland, Delaware, Pennsylvania, and Virginia.