PENNSYLVANIA (WTAJ) — The Foundation for Pennsylvania Watersheds (FPW) announced more than $650,000 in grant awards to advance the protection and restoration of Pennsylvania’s waterways, including some in Central Pennsylvania.

The FPW invests in local efforts in Pennsylvania that protect healthy streams, clean up pollution, and restore degraded wildlife habitat. Twice a year, the foundation distributes grants that leverage local, state, and federal funds to protect the best of the best and restore the worst of the worst water problems.

The FPW is awarding the following grants:

Centre County

• $3,000 to the Centre County PA Senior Environmental Corps to help protect the water resources of Centre County.
• $25,000 to ClearWater Conservancy for advancing wildlife and forest stewardship in Centre County (Includes Huntingdon County).
• $5,000 to the Moshannon Creek Watershed Association for monitoring water quality on abandoned mine lands for future restoration planning.
• $50,000 to PA Trout Unlimited for the Coldwater Heritage Partnership Program.

Cambria County

• $7,000 to the Cambria County Conservation and Recreation Authority to improve fish passage and reduce sediment in the Blacklick Creek watershed.

Huntingdon County

• $25,000 to Juniata College for their Carbon Reforestation Student program.

Other grants that were awarded

• $7,500 to the Allegheny Land Trust for land conservation efforts in the Lowries Run Watershed.
• $40,000 to the Clean Streams Foundation for land acquisition trusts on abandoned mine lands.
• $8,200 for the Lilley Run Forest Conservation project in the French Creek Watershed.
• $5,000 to the Friends of Pittsburgh Urban Forest for seed collection and shade tree programming.
• $11,385 to Indiana County Conservation District for the Lucerne 3A passive AMD treatment system.
• $15,000 to the Middle Susquehanna Riverkeeper Association for the Water Strider Universal Paddling Access program.
• $7,500 to the Mountain Watershed Association for the Rasler Run Expansion project.
• $15,000 to the National Wildlife Federation for the Choose Clean Water Ag Cost Share program.
• $15,000 to the Potomac Riverkeeper Network for bacteria source tracking on Antietam Creek.
• $25,000 to the Shamokin Creek Restoration Alliance for program support and leveraging federal AMD remediation funds.
• $20,000 to Stream Restoration Inc. for the Laurel Run passive treatment system rehabilitation.
• $10,000 to Susquehanna University to support their summer conservation intern program.
• $20,000 to the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership for their hunter and angler watershed protection program.
• $59,740 to Trout Unlimited for the Beech Creek acid mine drainage remediation work.
• $20,000 to the Tubmill Trout Club for stream restoration on Tubmill Creek.
• $25,000 to Western PA Coalition for Abandoned Mine Reclamation for AMD treatment class and launch of mining resource podcast series.
• $45,000 to Western PA Conservancy for the East Branch of the Clarion River habitat improvement project.
• $7,500 to Westmoreland County Conservation District for the Irwin AMD treatment system land acquisition.
• $15,000 to support the Wildlife Leadership Academy which promotes adolescent education in the sciences and requires community service hours.

“It’s exciting to see the wide range of local conservation projects we are funding this cycle,” Deborah Nardone, FPW executive director said. “These groups represent just about every slice of conservation – land acquisition, research, stream remediation and monitoring, and youth and adult outdoor education.”

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Additionally, the FPW awarded more than $150,000 to colleges, universities, and nonprofits involved in the Unassessed Waters Program. This partnership between the FPW and Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission (PFBC) engages colleges, universities, and nongovernment organizations to document the presence or absence of wild trout populations in previously unassessed waterways of Pennsylvania.

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