Delaware

Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University
Delaware River Restoration Fund Project Impact Assessments for Phase 2 – ANS Modeling (DE, NJ, NY, PA)
Deploy novel, high-resolution modeling techniques to quantify the positive impact of DRWI-associated restoration projects. Project will collaborate with the FieldDoc development team to develop and implement a series of Application Program Interfaces that enable DRWI grantees to run geospatial queries on project areas and model annual pollutant load reductions of nitrogen, phosphorus and sediment reduced as a result of project implementation.
$212,751

Brandywine Shad 2020
Restoration of American Shad and Fish Passage on the Brandywine River (DE)
Restore American shad and improve ecological function to the Brandywine River through the removal of two fish passage barriers, restoration of 10 acres of impounded habitat and development of fish passage designs at two other dams. Project will build on previous success to reduce water levels that lead to flooding and help reduce risk to public safety while increasing aquatic habitat diversity and water quality.
$445,000

Canaan Valley Institute
Coordinating Eastern Brook Trout Joint Venture Strategies and Goals (multiple states)
Continue the activities of the Eastern Brook Trout Joint Venture in the historic range of the species. Project will refine the strategic objectives and key conservation priorities of the Eastern Brook Trout Joint Venture using the results of the recently completed status assessment of wild brook trout at the catchment scale.
$74,999

Delaware River Basin Commission
Water Management Studies to Inform Basin-wide Resource Planning (DE, NJ, NY, PA)
Advance research in water management through completion of three studies focusing on water quality, contaminants of emerging concern and future water availability. Project will be used for planning efforts including consideration of future water supply projects, wastewater assimilative capacity, evaluation of pass-by flows, conservation releases, consumptive use mitigation triggers, freshwater flow needs to address sea-level rise and potential flow targets.
$499,126

National Wildlife Federation
Sacred Grounds Program: Installing Pollinator Gardens and Engaging Communities of Faith (DE)
Implement National Wildlife Federation’s Sacred Grounds program in Wilmington, Delaware. Project will not only increase pollinator habitat and stormwater best management practices, but also engage the untapped faith community to connect with in nature, building an environmental stewardship ethic that is beneficial to fish, wildlife and people.
$237,426

New Castle Conservation District
Dam Removal in the White Clay Creek (DE)
Remove an obsolete stone dam on the White Clay Creek in New Castle County, Delaware, restoring the indigenous ecosystem and habitat for aquatic animals and wildlife. Project will restore 1 mile of river hydrology and stream habitat and reconnect 9.2 miles of streambed, enabling shad and herring to spawn in the future while restoring riparian habitat essential to benthic organisms and neotropical warblers.
$179,520

Partnership for the Delaware Estuary
Producing Natural Resource Evaluation and a Management Plan for Mispillion and Cedar Creek (DE)
Work with partners to produce a natural resource economic valuation and management plan for Mispillion and Cedar Creek watersheds in Delaware. Project will provide the region with an ecotourism and nature-based investment strategy for conservation, climate adaptation and community resilience in the watersheds and will culminate in a comprehensive management plan that promotes resilience to flooding, sea-level rise and land use development.
$110,042

Partnership for the Delaware Estuary
Evaluating Outcomes of Coastal Salt Marsh Intervention Efforts (DE, NJ, PA)
Develop the Marsh Futures Ecological Mapper system to provide landscape-level evaluation of changes to key salt marsh ecosystem services of proposed habitat-specific restoration efforts. Project will fill a vital evaluation gap in protecting coastal marshes by providing a mechanism to understand how specific intervention efforts can either support or diminish landscape-level ecosystem services of salt marshes with applicability across the Atlantic Coast.
$300,000

Partnership for the Delaware Estuary
Developing Propagation and Rearing Methods for Freshwater Mussels in the Lower Delaware River Basin (DE, PA)
Develop propagation and rearing methods for three rare species of freshwater mussels that inhabit the tidal freshwater zone of the Delaware River Basin. Project will address a key bottleneck in the restoration and damage mitigation for these species and will also contribute to immediate and future water quality goals as progeny produced by the study will be planted into pilot living shoreline projects where they can deliver ecosystem services.
$164,002

Woods Hole Group
Advancing a Resilience Prioritization Decision Support System for Zone of Influence Prediction (DE)
Conceptualize and begin development of a resilience prioritization decision-support system  (DSS) in the Delaware Bay to help understand the impacts of storm surge and sea level rise under current and future conditions. Project will utilize the DSS to help set goals to build resilience to flooding within a given community and prioritize investments for maximum impact.
$310,000