NFWF Southeast Aquatics Fund Awards $2.1M in Conservation Grants

WASHINGTON, DC (December 8, 2020) — The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) has announced $2.1 million in grants to restore and enhance aquatic habitats for vulnerable native freshwater aquatic species in watersheds within Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, Tennessee, and Texas. The grants will generate more than $2.9 million in matching contributions for a total conservation impact of more than $5 million. 

The grants were awarded through the Southeast Aquatics Fund, a partnership between NFWF and the US Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Service, the US Forest Service, the US Fish and Wildlife Service, and Southern Company.

“Water quality is essential for healthy stream habitat and a cornerstone of natural resources conservation,” said NRCS Acting Chief Kevin Norton. “Through these projects, NRCS will have enhanced opportunities to partner and work on private working lands watersheds across these vital southeastern landscapes.”

"We are fortunate to have incredibly diverse landscapes and biodiversity across the southeast," said Ken Arney, regional forester for the southern region of the USDA Forest Service. "This initiative brings together partners from NFWF, state, federal, private entities, and landowners, each playing a critical role in conserving the healthy watersheds that supply our communities with clean water and sustain our abundant aquatic life."

“The Southeast is a critical region for aquatic biodiversity in the United States, and the Southeast Aquatics Fund plays a vital role in protecting many of the imperiled species in this region,” said Jeff Trandahl, executive director and CEO of NFWF. “This program especially helps to build conservation momentum for some of the remarkable, but lesser-known, aquatic species such as the Alabama rainbow and the Georgia blind salamander, and the habitats they depend on in the Southeast.”

The 11 projects announced today will conduct outreach and provide assistance to private landowners to implement conservation practices, make improvements to stream crossings, and monitor targeted species to better understand their status and habitat conditions. In total, these projects will benefit more than 20 miles of stream habitat, improve management of more than 50,000 acres of working lands, and benefit species including the bridled and trispot darter, blue shiner, Alabama rainbow, and Coosa creekshell. 

Guided by NFWF’s Longleaf Forest and Rivers Business Plan, these projects will take place within the Coosa River Basin in Alabama and Georgia, including the Big Canoe Creek and Holly Creek watersheds, the Lower Flint River watershed in Georgia, and within coastal watersheds across the five Gulf Coast states. Today’s projects present opportunities to address key threats impacting aquatic species and benefit the remarkable aquatic biodiversity found in these watersheds.

“We are pleased to work with NFWF, the private sector, and other federal agencies to implement conservation actions through the Southeast Aquatics Fund,” said US Fish and Wildlife Service Director Aurelia Skipwith. “Conserving aquatic species and habitats in the southeastern United States is an important focus area for the Service, and our collaborative work in Alabama’s Big Canoe Creek watershed and other areas will benefit species, habitats, and people.”

“Southern Company is committed to enriching the communities we are privileged to serve and to helping protect the natural resources we all share. Supporting the Southeast Aquatics Fund is one way we do our part in critical watershed restoration work,” said Stan Connally, Southern Company executive vice president of Operations.

Launched in 2017, the Southeast Aquatics Fund is a competitive grants program that supports watershed-based restoration to improve the health of aquatic systems and secure populations of native freshwater aquatic species. Including this year’s grants, the program has awarded more than $4.8 million to 28 conservation projects expected to benefit more than 50 miles of stream habitat.

A complete list of the 2020 grants made through the Southeast Aquatics Fund is available here.