Grants

WeConservePA is offering grants of up to $5,000 to conservation-oriented non-profit organizations or local/county governments to support their local trail and greenway outreach and education efforts.

Funded through the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources and administered WeConservePA, Regional Trail Workshop Grants are awarded to support high-quality educational programming and safety training directly related to trails and greenways. Regional Trail Workshop Grants are reimbursement grants that cover up to 80 percent of the costs directly associated with each workshop (not to exceed $5,000) and require a 20 percent match from the organization. Grantees are responsible for all remaining workshop costs. Applicants may only receive one grant per calendar year.

Complete the grant application and budget worksheet and submit to cgrayshaw@weconservepa.org by the application deadline of January 27, 2022 to be considered for the 2022 grant round.

For awarded grants, requests for payment must be submitted to the WeConservePA by October 15, 2022, and only expenses accrued up to September 30, 2022 will be eligible for reimbursement.

Recruitment, retention, and reactivation (R3) of anglers and boaters is important to the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission (PFBC). The R3 Education Grant Program (R3 Grant) provides funding to support R3-related educational programs delivered by our partners. The PFBC welcomes applications for the development and delivery of education programs that contribute to the Commission’s efforts to:

• Retain current anglers and boaters, and reactivate former anglers and boaters.

• Increase the diversity of PA's angler and boater population by recruiting and retaining under-represented audiences to a level comparable to their presence in the overall population of Pennsylvania.

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.

The purpose of the Coldwater Heritage Partnership (CHP) is to provide leadership, coordination, technical assistance, and funding support for the evaluation, conservation, and protection of Pennsylvania’s coldwater streams.

Goals of the program include:

• Foster a greater public understanding of watershed characteristics and how they affect coldwater ecosystems;
• Identify special areas of concern, such as areas with exceptional water quality with high potential for impacts;
• Produce conservation plans that will lead to additional planning or implementation of projects that protect and enhance our coldwater ecosystems; and
• Provide technical assistance and financial opportunities to organizations dedicated to protecting coldwater ecosystems.