The Chesapeake Bay Trust invites Maryland non-profit organizations and local governments to submit proposals for the Targeted Watershed Initiative grant program. The Targeted Watershed Initiative is designed to engage volunteers, public agencies and others in restoration and protection actions that improve the health of small watersheds in Maryland's portion of the Chesapeake Bay. 

The grant program supports specific on-the-ground solutions that address the most pressing nonpoint source pollution challenges facing a small watershed, and that result in measurable improvements in water quality and wildlife habitat.  The program also seeks to support cost-effective approaches to Bay restoration actions at the small watershed scale and establish replicable models of restoration that can be transferred and used throughout the Bay region.

The Targeted Watershed Initiative grant program was developed by a Chesapeake Bay Trust committee composed of representatives of the State departments of Agriculture, Environment, and Natural Resources, the Chesapeake Bay Commission, the Keith Campbell Foundation for the Environment, and members of the Chesapeake Bay Trust's Board of Trustees. The Trust also held a listening session with various watershed organization representatives to refine and ground truth the grant program's goals and objectives. 

Goals of the Targeted Watershed Initiative Grant Program:
The Chesapeake Bay Trust seeks partners in watershed restoration by dedicating funding to reduce nonpoint source pollution in specific small watersheds.  Successful applicants will undertake restoration projects and practices that result in measurable environmental benefits, and, through partnership with the Trust, share their results and experiences.  Specific objectives of the program are to:

1. Implement on-the-ground watershed restoration techniques consistent with the goals and priorities outlined in a local watershed restoration and protection plan;

2. Demonstrate project success measured by indicators that assess environmental improvements and greater community involvement;

3. Engage a greater number of citizens to participate in restoration and protection projects that implement, build on, and/or leverage existing watershed restoration plans and strategies; 

4. Promote partnerships between nonprofit organizations, government agencies, community groups, and others to leverage resources to restore the small watershed and expand the public's understanding of Bay issues; 

5. Serve as a model by ensuring that other similarly situated small watersheds are aware of and will be able to duplicate the solutions proposed and implemented by the applicant; and,

6. Demonstrate that a community-based initiative can make a difference in improving water quality and habitat in a small watershed.