Grants

Planning grants of up to $5,000 are awarded for the creation of a Coldwater Conservation Plan that will ultimately conserve and protect the coldwater streams of Pennsylvania. 

Implementation grants of up to $8,000 may be used to pay for equipment, materials, meeting expenditures, construction activities and other services to implement recommendations for projects that enhance, conserve, or protect the streams in which a conservation plan was originally completed. Eligible projects include, but are not limited to: aquatic habitat improvement structures, riparian buffers, stomrwater BMPs, agricultural BMPs, acid deposition abatement, education & outreach programs, stream bank restorations, etc. Trout Unlimited chapters, watershed associations, conservation districts, conservancies, and municipalities are among those eligible to apply.

Funding for projects involving the rehabilitation and development of public recreation and conservation areas OR projects that connect communities to their local waterways by developing public access and/or restoring the condition of the local watershed.

The Eastern PA Coalition of Abandoned Mine Reclamation (EPCAMR) and the Anthracite Region Independent Power Producer’s Association (ARIPPA) are offering competitive awards to watershed organizations working on Abandoned Mine Lands (AML) and/or Abandoned Mine Drainage (AMD) remediation projects in the Anthracite and Bituminous Regions of PA. The awards distributed in 2020 will total $5,000 statewide. The ARIPPA AML/AMD Reclamation Awards are designed to help environmental organizations and Conservation Districts secure extra match and leverage additional funds. Grant proposals should be for “on-the-ground” AML/AMD construction projects with a completion date between one year earlier than the deadline and one year later. The amount granted is dependent upon demonstrated need. Applying organizations must support the mission of ARIPPA, including the removal and conversion of coal refuse into alternative energy and the beneficial use of CFB ash for AML/AMD reclamation purposes.

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.