Watershed Assistance Grant Program

The Chesapeake Bay Trust, a nonprofit grant-making organization established in 1985, is dedicated to restoring and enhancing the Chesapeake Bay, its rivers, streams, forests, parks, and other regional natural resources. Supported by Maryland’s Chesapeake Bay license plate program and other regional funding partners, the Trust has awarded over $210 million in grants to municipalities, nonprofits, schools, and public agencies. The Watershed Assistance Grant Program (WAGP) is a partnership between the Trust, the Maryland Department of Natural Resources, the Maryland Department of the Environment, and the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection. It aims to support local governments and nonprofit organizations in Maryland and West Virginia, as well as select areas of Pennsylvania, by funding early-stage watershed restoration, design, and planning projects that align with local and state watershed goals. The program’s purpose is to advance project readiness for implementation, promote nonpoint source pollution reduction, and encourage collaborative watershed-scale solutions. Eligible project types include the design of stormwater best management practices such as bioretention cells, rain gardens, submerged gravel wetlands, and agricultural BMPs, as well as stream restoration, wetland and marsh creation, and living shorelines. Planning and programmatic development projects may involve watershed characterization, surveys, assessments, action plans, localized stormwater master plans, financing strategies, and program enhancements to increase local capacity. Funding requests are generally capped at $100,000 for stormwater BMP design, $150,000 for stream restoration design, and $75,000 for watershed planning and program development. Projects must clearly articulate deliverables, be cost-effective, and ensure designs are permit-ready. Matching funds are encouraged but not required. Approximately $1.4 million in total is anticipated for projects in Maryland and Pennsylvania (limited to the Octoraro Creek and Conowingo Creek watersheds in Chester and Lancaster Counties) and $400,000 for West Virginia projects. Project timelines must be 12 to 16 months from award, with the FY26 awards announced in March 2026. Eligible applicants include municipal, county, and regional agencies; nonprofit and faith-based organizations; community and homeowners associations; soil and water conservation districts; forestry boards; and public and independent higher education institutions. Projects in Pennsylvania must align with the Conowingo Watershed Implementation Plan. Applicants are strongly encouraged to consult with Trust staff at least two weeks before the submission deadline and can request application guidance, especially if new to grant funding or experiencing capacity challenges. Applications must be submitted online via the Chesapeake Bay Trust grants portal by 4:00 PM EST on November 7, 2025. Required components include organizational details, project abstract and location, timeline, deliverables, volunteer involvement, partner commitments, budget spreadsheet and narrative, and responses to narrative questions tailored to the selected project track. Evaluation criteria include justification and project need, technical soundness, likelihood of success, stakeholder involvement, long-term sustainability, audience priority, and budget cost-effectiveness. Letters of commitment from partners, landowner permissions, and pre-application meetings with permitting agencies are encouraged to strengthen proposals. For assistance, applicants may contact Megan Diehl, Senior Program Officer at the Chesapeake Bay Trust, at 410-974-2941 ext. 139 or via email at mdiehl@cbtrust.org. State-level contacts include Cory Russell (Maryland DNR) and Samuel Canfield (WV DEP). Additional resources, including pollutant load reduction calculators, watershed planning guidance, and stream restoration best practice references, are available through the Trust’s website and program appendices.

Contact Trust staff at least two weeks prior to deadline; ensure design projects are permit-ready; provide strong justification for project/site selection; collaborate with partners; include landowner permission; request letters of commitment; align with watershed implementation plans; ensure cost-effectiveness