New York

Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University
Evaluating Headwater Biodiversity and Resilience to Inform Conservation in the Delaware Basin (NY, PA)
Study the diversity and functioning of headwater streams, their potential resilience, and the species in their watersheds that are vulnerable to human activities and climate change. Project will provide data and approaches to partners that can be applied to maintain protection of important headwaters and to give an understanding of where climate change may pose a higher threat to certain areas within the watershed.
$327,500

Atlantic Marine Conservation Society
Secure Marine Mammal Tissue Sample Archive
Purchase a equipment to house marine mammal tissue samples. Project will replace a specialized ultra-low freezer that is failing to preserve the region’s archived samples.
$14,564

Bronx River Alliance
Project Water DROP: Detecting River Outfalls and Pollutants (NY)
Monitor water quality along the entire Bronx River in the Bronx and Westchester County, New York. Project will improve water quality and management of the Bronx River downstream to Long Island Sound by identifying and addressing sources of illicit pollution and informing the update to the watershed-scale Bronx River Intermunicipal Watershed Plan.
$49,232

Chesapeake Bay Commission
Lessons Learned from Decades of Experiences of the Chesapeake Bay Program Partnership (multiple states)
Draft and publish peer-reviewed literature summarizing the core set of lessons learned through the work of the Chesapeake Bay restoration partnership which are applicable to other watershed-based/partnership-based restoration efforts. Project will share the key lessons learned during the multi-decade, partnership-based, Chesapeake Bay restoration efforts, and will result in a multi-media series of “lessons learned” products.
$25,316

Chesapeake Stormwater Network
Chesapeake Bay Stormwater Training and Engagement in Urban Watersheds (multiple states)
Focus stormwater training and engagement efforts on four critical and vulnerable target populations in the Bay watershed to accelerate the pace of local nutrient reduction and promote more widespread implementation of effective stormwater and restoration practices across the watershed.
$325,000

Citizens Campaign Fund for the Environment
Developing a Long Island Sound Student Action Plan (NY)
Deliver an educational program about challenges to restoration and protection of the health and living resources Long Island Sound at four high schools on Long Island, New York. Project will deliver a shared Student Action plan for the Sound.
$65,500

City Island Oyster Reef
Viva La Sound! Cultivating Community and Environmental Stewardship on City Island in the Bronx (NY)
Host a public environmental awareness program kicking off with “Viva la Sound,” a Long Island Sound appreciation festival followed by educational workshops for adults, students and teachers at City Island, Bronx, New York. Project will provide the community with environmental education about the importance of protecting City Island’s shoreline and the Long Island Sound through the lens of oyster restoration and clean water initiatives.
$8,361

Connecticut Fund for the Environment
A Watershed Plan for the Hutchinson River, Westchester County (NY)
Develop a watershed plan for the Hutchison River watershed, Westchester County, New York. Project will ensure that restoration and protection strategies are identified that address watershed resilience to flooding and storms and local and Long Island Sound water quality.
$200,000

Cornell Cooperative Extension of Suffolk County
Implementing a Bycatch Avoidance Communication Network (MA, NH, NJ, NY, RI)
Expand the Bycatch Avoidance Communication Network to identify and report real-time bycatch of nine species, helping to avoid the implementation of restrictive management measures associated with this bycatch.  Project will enhance the network by improving daily reporting rates, recruiting additional vessels to the network, and conducting five at-sea observer days to facilitate proper reporting.
$57,621

Cornell Cooperative Extension of Suffolk County
Reducing Discard Mortality in the Recreational Atlantic Striped Bass Fishery (NY)
Conduct outreach and education in the recreational Atlantic striped bass fishery on proper fish handling and fishing methods in order to reduce discard mortality in Long Island, New York waters. Project will target recreational anglers through fishing groups, charter boats, and fishing expos to offer education on techniques to lower discard mortality in the recreational Atlantic striped bass fishery.
$78,797

Cortland County Soil and Water Conservation District
Improving Fish Passage and Restoring Riparian Habitat along Grout Book and Vigil Creek (NY)
Improve and enhance stream and riparian habitat to benefit fish, wildlife and water quality by completing four stream corridor and riparian habitat enhancement projects to protect and improve important brook trout habitat in Cortland County, New York. Project will prevent more than 530 pounds of sediment and nutrients from entering local waterways annually, rectify four fish passage barriers, and open 6 miles of stream.
$275,000

Delaware River Basin Commission
Improving Water Resources Management in the Delaware River Basin via Data Access (DE, NJ, NY, PA)
Support the Delaware River Basin Commission’s comprehensive Water Resources Program to improve water quality management, monitoring and ultimately improve aquatic habitat. Project will manage, protect, and improve water resources by developing a basin-focused Water Quality Data Portal to facilitate data access for the public.
$200,000

Delaware State University
Identifying Environmental Drivers of American Eel Emigration in the Delaware River (DE, NJ, NY, PA)
Model the outmigration of adult, silver-phase American eel in both the tidal and non-tidal portions of the Delaware River, utilizing a large-scale passive acoustic telemetry network annotated with environmental and astronomical parameters. Project will increase understanding of the underlying drivers and timing of movement in the Delaware River Basin, informing conservation and management of American eel in impounded systems where passage and increased mortality are key concerns.
$225,177

Frank Melville Memorial Foundation
Installation of Nitrogen Removing Biofilter at Frank Melville Memorial Park (NY)
Install an innovative on-site wastewater treatment system in the Frank Melville Memorial Park in Setauket, New York. Project will provide a visible proof-of-concept to inform wider use of efficient low-cost residential treatment system with the promise to decrease nitrogen pollution into the ground and surface waters of local bays, harbors, streams and rivers that flow into Long Island Sound.
$29,987

Friends of the Upper Delaware River
Improving Trout Habitat and River Access in the Upper Delaware River Watershed (NY, PA)
Implement five stream restoration projects including the replacement of three failing culverts, installation of habitat improvement structures, floodplain reconnection, and continued outreach to the community. Project will improve water quality, improve trout spawning habitat, expand fish passage, and  develop scientific support for future stream restoration projects.
$405,478

Groundwork Hudson Valley
Wallkill-Saw Mill Riparian Restoration Partnership (NJ, NY)
Improve riparian conditions along two tributaries to the Hudson River by restoring 7 acres of habitat pursuant to management strategies outlined in the National Wildlife Refuge’s Comprehensive Conservation Plan. Project will engage 50 youths and 300 volunteers and create 15 jobs for students recruited from Yonkers public schools to revegetate the riparian corridor with 1,000 willow species, sycamores, silver maples, dogwood shrubs and button bushes and to remove invasive vines on 2 acres.
$49,574

Henry L. Ferguson Museum
Stakeholder Engagement and Planning for Eelgrass Protection on Fishers Island (NY)
Deliver an education and engagement program to stakeholder communities presenting scenarios for eelgrass protection at Fishers Island, New York. Project will secure and integrate community feedback about strategies to best protect this important coastal habitat of Long Island Sound.
$44,798

Highstead
A Partnership Approach to Watershed Restoration and Community Engagement (CT, NY)
Restore 10 acres of urban watershed habitat and prevent 1,200 pounds of trash from entering waterways in efforts to improve watershed, wildlife and community health. Project will engage 2,100 community members, volunteers and students in stewardship opportunities and reach 10,000 people through outreach events, workshops, and online communications with information, opportunities for action and exchange of best practices in watershed restoration.
$49,525

Manomet
Coordinating American Oystercatcher Recovery on the Atlantic Coast (multiple states)
Provide coordination of the American oystercatcher recovery initiative and actionable change based on lessons learned from 2009-2019 and reduce the impact of predators and human disturbance on populations of breeding shorebirds along the U.S. Atlantic coast. Project will contribute substantially to the goals of the Atlantic Flyway Business Plan.
$79,999

National Audubon Society
Be a Good Egg: Share the Shore with Shorebirds — IV (NY)
Expand the “Be a Good Egg,” environmental education program in the Long Island Sound watershed of New York. Project will increase support for coastal conservation and engage people in actions that help shorebirds thrive in important coastal habitats of the Sound.
$47,564

National Audubon Society
Identifying Forest Blocks and Implementing Strategies to Improve Habitat for Birds (NY, VT)
Improve forest management practices through Audubon’s Woods, Wildlife, and Warblers program and continue to work with family forest owners, professional foresters and industry in the Lake Champlain and Upper Hudson watersheds in New York and Lake Champlain Basin in Vermont. Protect will restore 450 acres of young forest habitat and 1,000 acres of late successional habitat to benefit American woodcock, golden-winged warbler, black-throated blue warbler, and wood thrush.
$200,000

National Audubon Society
Planning to Enhance Coastal Resiliency with Tidal Marsh Restoration at Sunken Meadow Park (NY)
Conduct a site assessment and develop a preliminary design to restore salt marsh at Sunken Meadow State Park, New York. Project will set the stage to improve marsh habitat for saltmarsh sparrow and other wildlife and buffer the park and nearby communities from storms and sea-level rise.
$175,409

National Audubon Society
Restoration and Management of Shorebird Habitats along the Atlantic Coast (NY, NC, SC)
Manage and protect shorebird habitats to reduce threats, and develop plans and permits needed to restore habitat at key sites that support 25 percent of North Carolina’s nesting American oystercatchers. Project will protect and manage shorebird habitat at 40 sites across three states and will secure permitting to restore shorebird habitat at two sites that will increase habitat quality and flyway connectivity.
$179,999

National Audubon Society
Removing Infrastructure to Restore Tidal Marsh to the Mastic Beach Coastline (NY)
Restore priority coastal habitat in a flood-prone area of the Town of Brookhaven to benefit priority bird species and other wildlife, reduce flooding, and better protect inland areas from rising sea levels and storm events. Project will remove portions of a coastal road that regularly floods due to sea-level rise and restore the area to tidal marsh habitat, contributing to a larger ongoing multi-faceted coastal retreat and floodplain restoration on the 7,600 acre Mastic Beach/Shirley peninsula.
$244,288

National Audubon Society
The River Unites Us: Bird Conservation Across the Delaware River Watershed (DE, NY, PA)
Address conservation needs reflecting the rich diversity of habitat and conditions across three states in the Delaware River Watershed. Project will increase the number of people engaged in direct conservation efforts, measurably improve bird habitat, and increase scientific data awareness and support for restoration efforts in Delaware.
$250,000

National Wildlife Federation
Delaware River Basin Urban Wildlife Community Engagement Program (DE, NJ, NY, PA)
Engage a broader demographic by identifying and addressing specific community barriers to conservation engagement. Project will develop tools for cultivating programs that provide high-quality recreational and conservation opportunities that benefit the communities and the environment, increasing public access to the Delaware river and its lands, and inspiring participants to engage in outdoor activities and protect and improve their local watershed.
$499,999

New York City Audubon Society
Community Science and Restoration for a Wildlife-friendly City (NY)
Restore 3 acres of Jamaica Bay coastline to support bird and horseshoe crab habitat with a native plant meadow, fishing line disposal bins and educational signage. Project will provide shorebird migration data, support state and region-wide horseshoe crab conservation, enhance a total of 15 acres of habitat and involve 775 youths and adults in hands-on conservation.
$50,000

New York State Office of Parks, Recreation, and Historic Preservation
Restoring Coastal Wetland Habitat via Invasive Species Management (NY)
Improve habitat structure through invasive species control and native plant restoration in coastal wetlands in the Lake Ontario Watershed. Project will restore more than 80 acres of wetland habitat to protect rare and significant elements, manage invasive species, and reduce shoreline erosion.
$352,113

Science Museum of Long Island
Green Infrastructure at the Leeds Pond Preserve and Science Museum to Improve Water Quality in Long Island Sound (NY)
Design and install a green infrastructure demonstration at the 36 acre Leeds Pond Preserve, home of the Science Museum of Long Island, that borders both Manhasset Bay and Leeds Pond in Plandome Manor, New York. Project will prevent 2.6 million gallons of polluted stormwater from entering Manhasset Bay and Long Island and demonstrate to people visiting the museum how the various types of green infrastructure controls and reduces stormwater runoff.
$46,021

SUNY Maritime College
Boogie Down to the Sound, A Celebration of Long Island Sound — II (NY)
Host the Boogie Down to the Sound, a two-day hands-on, on-the-water event at SUNY-Maritime College, Throggs Neck, New York. Project will build awareness and connect  up to 1,000 students and community residents to Long Island Sound.
$9,025

The Trust for Public Land
A Green Schoolyard at PS 107X: Providing Community Green Space and Improving Water Quality (NY)
Construct green infrastructure on a playground at Public School 107X in the Bronx, New York. Project will enhance community outdoor recreational green space and capture 2.7 million gallons of polluted stormwater annually before it flows into the Bronx River and Long Island Sound.
$242,372

The Whaling Museum Society
Sound Effects: A Public Conservation Education Program – III (NY)
Deliver a public education series with hands-on learning and conservation-based activities to inform people about the effects of pollution on Long Island Sound. Project will teach 300 adult, family, and elementary school age audiences about actions they can take to improve the health of the Sound.
$9,940

Town of Brookhaven
Long Island Sound Environmental Education Series (NY)
Provide a Long Island Sound environmental education series in the Town of Brookhaven, New York. Project will reach 550 community members, increasing knowledge and engagement of the public in the protection and restoration of Long Island Sound and its coastal ecosystem.
$8,799

Trout Unlimited
Brook Trout Monitoring and Evaluation for Sustain our Great Lakes (multiple states)
Conduct an evaluation to understand brook trout response, including abundance, young of year, multiple life stages, and effective breeders, to the improved access to and quality of habitat. Project will track progress towards the Great Lakes Business Plan stream habitat related goals.
$292,650

Trout Unlimited
Chesapeake Bay Watershed Priority Brook Trout Strongholds Conservation Analysis (MD, NY, PA, VA, WV)
Complete focal analyses for 11 brook trout stronghold patches within the Chesapeake Bay watershed. Project will develop a strategic restoration approach focused on brook trout populations, and following the compilation of the available data for each patch and the completion of the conservation portfolio analysis, Trout Unlimited will provide a summary report for each priority patch that outlines potential projects, current data available, monitoring needs, and other information.
$41,574

Rockaway Waterfront Alliance
Restoring the Rockaway Waterfront Dunes (NY)
Develop a comprehensive site assessment and preliminary design to enhance and restore 7 miles of coastal dunes along New York City’s Atlantic shoreline. Project will transform the shoreline into an extensive, biodiverse and habitat-rich dune system to recognize the importance of biodiversity and monitoring while preparing the community and its dune system for sea level rise.
$372,299

The Nature Conservancy
Establishing a Freshwater Preserve at Follensby Pond (NY)
Establish the first known whole-catchment freshwater preserve in the United States at Follensby Pond, located in the heart of New York’s Adirondack Park. Project will protect intact ecosystems and landscapes while providing new recreational access to the 14,700-acre property.
$650,000

Tioga County Soil and Water Conservation District of New York
Strengthening the Conservation Community Foundation in the Upper Susquehanna Watershed (NY, PA)
Focus on providing training to new and existing staff to further provide a framework for the Upper Susquehanna Coalition to evaluate available programs for future sustainability. Project will implement 114 acres of riparian buffer, 400 acres of prescribed grazing, 3,800 acres of stream corridor restoration and 39 acres of wetland restoration that is estimated to generate nutrient reductions of 4,155 pounds of nitrogen, 689 pounds of phosphorus and 456,130 pounds of sediment annually.
$1,000,000

Trout Unlimited
Conservation Assessment of Brook Trout and Planning and Impact Tool Development in the Great Lakes Region (multiple states)
Conduct a broad-scale assessment of existing brook trout population viability within the U.S. portion of the Great Lakes watershed that will build off of and be compatible with the analysis and associated tools developed for NFWF’s Mid-Atlantic/Northeast region. Project will assist NFWF in identifying conservation needs and priority investment areas throughout the basin and associated tools will enable NFWF to develop and measure population-based recovery goals over time across multiple NFWF landscapes, particularly the Northeast and Great Lakes.
$126,967

Trout Unlimited
Restoring Instream Habitat and Engaging Private Landowners to Improve Fish Passage (MA, NY, VT)
Restore instream and riparian forest habitat in priority locations based on previous outreach and training to private landowners, municipalities, and forestry professionals. Project will add large woody material to 5 miles of stream, restore 5 miles of adjacent riparian forest to create habitat for native brook and complete 90-percent designs for three aquatic barriers to be removed in the future.
$133,842

Trout Unlimited
Wylie Brook Aquatic Passage Connectivity Project (NY)
Replace three undersized culverts that are a barrier for brook trout, which will reconnect more than 7 miles of habitat for brook trout in the watershed. Project will build a partnership between Trout Unlimited, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the state Department of Environmental Conservation and the local township of Coventry, New York, and enhance the eastern brook trout population stronghold.
$171,118

Village of Sea Cliff, New York
Hempstead Harbor 2021 Water Quality Monitoring Program — XIII (NY)
Conduct water quality monitoring in Hempstead Harbor, Nassau County, New York. Project will inform management of Hempstead Harbor an embayment of Long Island Sound.
$75,000

Waterfront Alliance
Sound In! Community Estuary Days on the Bronx Shores of Long Island Sound (NY)
Deliver educational programs and festivals about Long Island Sound in the Bronx, New York. Project will build on existing partnerships with grassroots organizations in underserved urban neighborhoods to increase awareness of Long Island Sound and knowledge about what can be done to restore it.
$30,000

Western New York Land Conservancy
Restoring and Enhancing Wetlands at the Margery Gallogly Nature Sanctuary (NY)
Restore coastal wetlands and adjacent riparian and upland habitats at the Margery Gallogly Nature Sanctuary in New York. Project will improve 90 acres of habitat for populations of species of conservation need, including nesting birds, migratory waterfowl and spawning fish.
$100,000

Western New York Land Conservancy
Treating Invasive Species along the Niagara River Gorge (NY)
Build on a previously successful grant to monitor and conduct follow-up control activities on invasive plant species on habitat that was previously restored along the Niagara River Gorge. Project will control invasive species on 115 acres which will result in increased nesting songbird diversity and a 90 percent reduction in invasive cover.
$150,000

Wildlife Management Institute
Enhancing Forest Habitat for New England Cottontails, Golden-Winged Warbler and American Woodcock (multiple states)
Enhance participation in Farm Bill programs by supporting habitat biologists and outreach specialists to interface with private landowners to provide young forest habitat for more than 50 Species of Conservation Need in New England. Project will develop forest management plans that utilize existing Best Management Practices, develop healthy diverse forest age classes, and protect riparian habitat values, improving management on 200 acres.
$156,290

Wyoming County Soil and Water Conservation District
Improving Fish Passage by Removing the Pike Dam in the Genessee River Basin (NY)
Remove a barrier to aquatic organism passage on Wiscoy Creek in the Genesee River Watershed, and replace it with a grade-control structure that will restore fish passage and enhance aquatic habitat. Project will open and restore 25 miles of stream to benefit brook trout.
$125,000