Audubon Maryland - D.C. Receives a Substantial Grant for Deal Island Marsh Habitat Restoration

Federal and state agencies are investing $6 million in an Atlantic coastwide initiative to strengthen and restore 1,667 acres of salt marshes across five states by 2025, with the latest $1 million awarded this week by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection. The award is shared with the states of Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Virginia.

The $1 million Competitive State Wildlife Grant awarded the week of January 15, 2021 will fund the implementation and testing of new management practices for restoring salt marsh across the six states. The grant is matched by $379,000 from these states, and adds to $4 million previously awarded from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and other federal funds for a total of $6,009,777. State wildlife agencies will manage projects in each of the six states in collaboration with many partners, including the Audubon Maryland-DC, The Trustees of Reservations, the Virginia Institute of Marine Science, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and the Salt Marsh Habitat and Avian Research Program.

David Curson, Director of Audubon Maryland - D.C. prepared a proposal to the Competitive State Wildlife Grant Program for the Deal Island Restoration Project. That proposal was successful! The proposal was a partnership between 6 Atlantic Flyway states, and was coordinated through the Atlantic Coast Joint Venture. The state of Maryland (DNR) will receive $250,000 out of the $1 million grant and will pass through $190,000 to Audubon Maryland-DC. The grant covers a 5-year period. Curson reports that each year the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will be depositing 100 acres of fill to expand Deal Island in Somerset County. Audubon Maryland in conjunction with NOAH and the FWS will be directing the depositing of this fill and the design and biological composition of this newly created marshland.