The Chesapeake WILD Project Mapper displays projects between 2022 and 2024. It is important to note that not all WILD-funded projects are displayed on the mapper due to spatial data sensitivities, and all data are subject to change as it will be updated annually.
Writers: Chase Douglas and Faren Wolter
This year, Chesapeake WILD is awarding more than $8.9 million to 30 new implementation or planning and technical assistance grants. The awards will ultimately provide 2,000 acres of enhanced public access and protect roughly 10,200 acres of forest, grassland, and wetland habitat. Congress established the Chesapeake Watershed Investments for Landscape Defense Program, known as Chesapeake WILD, in response to a need for non-regulatory, partnership-driven conservation investments in the watershed.
As a way to showcase the tremendous work of Chesapeake WILD grantees, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service developed the Chesapeake WILD Project Mapper. The mapper provides detailed spatial information about where Chesapeake WILD is investing in conservation actions in the watershed, descriptive information about each project and its accomplishments, and other useful information such as grant track, total award and match amount, and more.
This mapper allows users to:
- Click on icons color-coded by funding year to learn about WILD-funded projects.
- Sort projects to find results from funding years 2022-2024 (will be updated yearly).
- Use the Northeast Region Conservation Design Areas of Agreement v2 layer, provided by the US Fish and Wildlife Service, to compare attributes of four to five publicly available data sets to show overlapping trends in biodiversity across the watershed – the darker the color the higher the potential value that landscape holds for supporting biodiversity.
- Use the Protected Lands, Chesapeake Bay, 2022 overlay, provided by the Protected Lands Workgroup, to see if projects fall within protected lands boundaries based on the most accurate accounting of permanently protected lands in the watershed.
The Salt Marsh Sparrow was one of the many species that the 2024 Chesapeake WILD Grant projects helped support.
The Chesapeake WILD Mapper is designed to be an interactive communication tool that inspires conservation and restoration conversations that become innovative grant proposals. The next Chesapeake WILD Grants call for grant proposals is slated for late January 2025, so we encourage potential applicants to use this unique tool and technical assistance that Chesapeake WILD offers to begin preparing your submissions.
Through the competitive Chesapeake WILD Grants program, co-administered by the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, the Service directs funding to projects that address shared priorities across rural, urban, and Tribal communities. Program staff works with diverse partners to foster and support innovative grant proposals to implement strategic conservation actions to achieve our shared vision of a healthy, interconnected network of land and water that supports vital fish and wildlife resources and connects people with nature for recreational and other human health benefits.
The Chesapeake WILD Program offers a host of technical assistance opportunities including office hours with NFWF Field Liaisons at events across the Chesapeake Bay Watershed.
One reason Chesapeake WILD Grants receives innovative and competitive proposals is a direct result of the significant time and effort USFWS and NFWF staff invest in prospective grant applicants through the technical assistance WILD offers.
Interested potential applicants can:
- Contact NFWF’s Field Liaisons who can help explore local project needs, enhance alignment with WILD program priorities, help develop right-sized project proposals, and much more.
- Sign up for a Proposal Lab to receive one-on-one consulting with NFWF and USFWS staff to discuss project ideas and strengthen proposals. These take place from roughly early February through late April. An online registration link, along with all WILD Grants application materials and notices, will be posted on NFWF’s Chesapeake WILD Grants web page.
- Attend information webinars with partners to learn about NFWF’s grant application process, the types of conservation actions eligible for WILD funding and to get general questions answered.
This technical assistance is further supported by the work of the Chesapeake WILD Roundtable, which brings together networked partners to support the greater vision of connected and healthy habits through the grant program and beyond. The WILD Roundtable is coordinated by USFWS, CCP, and NFWF staff to help facilitate the collection of feedback for the grant program and gather reviewers to aid with the selection process.
This wealth of technical assistance, the collaborative work of networks of partners, and the creative proposals grant applicants have allowed Chesapeake WILD to make a real difference in the watershed. If you want to learn more about the Chesapeake WILD grant program, the Chesapeake WILD Program Mapper, or how to join the Chesapeake WILD Roundtable, you can contact Faren R. Wolter (USFWS) [email protected] or Tori Sullens (NFWF) [email protected].
Image credit:
- US Fish and Wildlife Service
- US Fish and Wildlife Service
- National Fish and Wildlife Foundation
Lightning Update is a regular communication of the Chesapeake Conservation Partnership. Any opinions expressed are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect positions of the Partnership or member organizations.
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Support for the Chesapeake Conservation Partnership is provided by:
National Park Service Chesapeake
EPA Chesapeake Bay Program
USDA Forest Service
Pennsylvania Department of Conservation & Natural Resources
Maryland Department of Natural Resources
Virginia Outdoors Foundation
US Fish & Wildlife Service
Chesapeake Conservancy
The Chesapeake Conservation Partnership is co-convened by:
