Grants

River Network and the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) are excited to announce a funding opportunity for nonprofit organizations working on stewardship activities on USFS administered Wild and Scenic Rivers (WSR). Partnership funding will range from $5,000-$10,000 per award for work occurring between August 1 and December 31, 2019. Stewardship projects - e.g. water quality monitoring, river cleanups, habitat restoration, stormwater management, trail delineations, and many more - must protect or enhance Wild and Scenic Rivers.

The Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program (CREP) is a part of the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) the country's largest private-land conservation program. Administered by the Farm Service Agency (FSA), CREP targets specific State or nationally significant conservation concerns, and federal funds are supplemented with non-federal funds to address those concerns. In exchange for removing environmentally sensitive land from production and establishing permanent resource conserving plant species, farmers and ranchers are paid an annual rental rate along with other federal and non-federal incentives as applicable per each CREP agreement. Participation is voluntary, and the contract period is typically 10-15 years.

For more information on the CREP program within Pennsylvania's portion of the Delaware River basin click here.

This pilot project is an approach to providing funding for urgent, unforeseen situations on designated water trails that impede or impair access, create unsafe conditions/ safety concerns for paddlers or others who want to access the water trail, affect safe ingress/egress from the water trail, etc.

Such situations could include, but are not limited to,

• Storm-induced scouring, flooding, debris impoundments that severely impact navigation.
• Fallen trees or other large obstructions caused by a storm or other event that will prohibit or severely impact an imminent sojourn, paddle fest, race, etc. 
• A situation where there is a major in-water litter/trash issue immediately prior to a planned community event, paddle, race, etc.
• A situation in which an access improvement/ enhancement project was funded and is almost complete, but an unforeseen event or situation threatens to prevent the project from being completed without a small infusion of extra funding.
• The destruction of a safety or wayfinding sign at an access point, if the sign was critical to orienting paddlers or providing critical information about a river hazard, portage, dam, 

In short, the situation must be caused by an “unanticipated” event, or one that could not be reasonably planned for. A known ongoing situation that was simply not addressed in time would not qualify. This funding should be viewed as a “last resort.” 

If the applicant is not the Water Trail Manager, applicant must contact the Water Trail Manager before applying to this funding. Additional, all applicants must contact one of the Water Trail Program Partners at PEC, DCNR or PFBC prior to applying.

Through the Fund, OSI provides three types of grants for partners within the Delaware River Watershed Initiative:

1. Capital Grants (for Forest Land and/or Farm Buffer projects)
2. Transaction Grants (to jump start land conservation efforts)
3. and Catalyst Grants (to integrate water quality science into open space plans)