EPA awards over $2M to mid-Atlantic wetlands protection

Last week the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced over $2 million in grants for wetlands protection for the mid-Atlantic states of Pennsylvania, Virginia, West Virginia and Delaware.

“Wetlands are a primary component of Pennsylvania’s environment, which contribute greatly to the state’s ability to protect water quality and natural resources,” said EPA Mid-Atlantic Acting Regional Administrator Diana Esher. “This award focuses on developing a strategic plan for enhancing wetlands across all state park and state forest lands.”

Pennsylvania received a $498,673 grant to the state’s Department of Conservation and Natural Resources to enhance its wetlands program for state parks and forests. Pennsylvania will use its funding to assess the condition of wetlands on state lands and identify wetlands in need of management to restore lost or impacted ecosystem functions.

Lands being assessed would include more than 700,000 acres of state forest land off-limits to resource extraction, as well 1.5 million acres of state forest land where some type of resource extraction is allowed.

Virginia received a $667,621 grant for its Department of Environmental Quality to support wetlands protection. Some of the funding will be used to support wetland management decision-making by enhancing a GIS Wetlands Condition Assessment Tool (WetCAT) that is used to evaluate the stability of wetlands and determine which areas need restoration and/or mitigation. Funding will also be used to expand the dissemination of wetland resource information through social media and other outreach efforts.

West Virginia received $299,362 for its Department of Environmental Protection to support wetlands protection. The state will use the funding for training and partnership-building to ensure maximum benefit from new wetland monitoring and assessment tools. Funding will also be used to update wetlands mapping for 23 counties and for public outreach designed to encourage community involvement in citizen science and wetland protection. 

Delaware received $599,273 toward its Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control (DNREC) for wetlands protection. This state’s funding will award the following initiatives:

• Assessing wetlands in the Delaware portion of the Pocomoke watershed.
• Hosting the 2022 Delaware Wetlands Conference (10th annual).
• Helping to establish Delaware’s first statewide freshwater wetland protection program.
• Designing a demonstration project to evaluate the beneficial use of sediments for wetland restoration.
• Updating and promoting a tidal marsh migration model that helps predict where marshes will recede or change due to sea level rise.
• Supporting the inland bays and Nanticoke watershed with submerged aquatic vegetation.
• Expanding education and outreach.

The funds were provided through EPA’s Wetland Program Development Grant program, which enables state, local and tribal governments to conduct a range of projects that promote research and pollution reduction efforts related to wetlands.