CDRW Updates
Annual Meeting – Registration for our Annual Member Meeting is open! This is an opportunity to learn more about Coalition efforts, vote on our 2016 policy priorities, discuss future directions, and network with other Coalition members. Lunch will be provided. Please plan to join us after the meeting for an informal reception with Kim Beidler to thank her for all of her great work at Rho Waterfront restaurant (50 Riverview Plaza, Trenton, NJ 08611). For more information and to register, click here! Thanks to everyone who has registered so far!
Clean Water Rule – While we thought our legislative challenges with the Clean Water Rule were over after the Senate failed to pass a veto-proof CRA resolution, it looks like Congress is still trying to block the rule. Earlier this month, the House passed S.J. 22, the resolution blocking the Clean Water Rule that had been passed last year in the Senate. President Obama vetoed the resolution, and just this week, the Senate failed to override the veto. It’s still good news, but it looks like this is going to be an ongoing fight for some time. The court challenges are still moving forward, so we will keep an eye on those as well. Thanks again to everyone who has been involved in efforts to protect the Clean Water Rule!
Member Updates
New NPCA Staff & Coalition Representative – Please join me in welcoming Amanda John to the Coalition! Amanda is the National Parks Conservation Association’s new Pennsylvania & Delaware Program Manager. Amanda comes with experience in leading advocacy campaigns for Potomac Conservancy, including a clean water advocacy initiative in Frederick County, MD. She led on-the-ground organizing in York County for the Chesapeake Bay Foundation’s PA office, and has worked to influence decision makers through direct lobbying at local, state, and federal levels. Amanda is also a Senior Fellow with the Environmental Leadership Program, a professional development program for conservationists. Amanda will serve as NPCA’s representative on the Coalition’s Steering Committee.
Delaware Nature Society has received a grant from the William Penn Foundation to continue its Clean Water: Delaware’s Clear Choice campaign. The grant will be used to integrate a communications and marketing program that highlights the public’s desire for clean water funding, and engage elected officials in efforts to secure dedicated clean water funding. For more on the Clean Water: Delaware’s Clear Choice campaign, click here.
Events
Brownfields Revitalization Meeting – The Delaware River Urban Waters Federal Partnership (UWFP) is hosting a meeting focused on current projects and Brownfields progress and challenges. The meeting will take place on Tuesday, January 26th at the Marriott Courtyard Philadelphia Navy Yard from 9:30am-2:30pm. For more information and to register, click here.
Watershed Identity and Scenario Development Workshops – DRB2070 is a collaborative effort to identify a guiding vision to promote regional planning in the watershed. DRB2070 is intended to help civic and business leaders make decisions that reflect shared stakeholder interests and data-driven research to produce lasting benefits for the regional economy and quality of life. The Scenario Development Workshops will help shape the DRB2070. For more information and to register, click here. Upcoming workshops will be held on:
- Tuesday, February 16th at the Merrill Creek Reservoir (34 Merrill Creek Rd. Washington, NJ 07882) from 10:30am-2:00pm
- Thursday, February 18th at the “The Barn” at the St. Jones Reserve Coastal Training Center (818 Kitts Hummock Rd. Dover, DE 19901) from 10:30am-2:00pm.
MTAPP Meeting – The next Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission’s Municipal Technical Assistance Advisory Panel (MTAAP) meeting will take place on Thursday, March 1st , though the time is still TBD. To RSVP, click here. For more information about MTAAP, visit the project’s webpage: http://www.dvrpc.org/Environment/Water/MunicipalActions/.
2016 Watershed Congress – The 2016 Watershed Congress will be held on Saturday, March 12th at Montgomery County Community College in Pottstown. The program will offer a keynote speaker with an historical perspective, information-packed breakout sessions, exhibits by watershed organizations, environmental consulting firms, government agencies, and much more. For more information and to register, click here.
Jobs/Internships
Stream Steward Project Manager – The Nature Conservancy is seeking a Stream Steward Project Manager to advance The Nature Conservancy and National Park Service’s strategy of connecting younger and more diverse audiences to conservation. The Project Manager will lead the development of a citizen-science stream monitoring program in and around Frist State National Historical Park in Delaware with the goal to inspire conservation action and establish a community voice in the planning and management of park resources.
Assistant Water Program Leader – The U.S. Forest Service’s Watershed, Fish, Wildlife, Air, and Rare Plants (WFWARP) is looking for an Assistant Water Program Leader to lead for the National Best Management Practices (BMP) Program and serve as the principal water program assistant with responsibilities for providing long range resource planning, program direction, coordination, and evaluation of water resource management and related activities on National Forest System land. The position will also provide assistance in maintaining and developing national partnerships to facilitate the management of water resources on National Forests and Grasslands. Please see the attached document for the announcement.
Community Engagement Specialist – The John Heinz National Wildlife Refuge is seeking a community intern from the greater Philadelphia commuting area to join our team and represent the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for this unique internship opportunity. Gain experience assisting with the Urban National Wildlife Initiative in the city of Philadelphia by facilitating partnerships and assisting with refuge communications. The position is AmeriCorps eligible and will include a stipend. For more information, click here.
Funding
Five Star and Urban Waters Restoration Grant Program – The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) has an RFP out for this public-private partnership grant program, funded in part by the EPA’s Wetlands and Urban Waters Programs, along with the US Forest Service, US Fish and Wildlife Service, and the Urban Waters Federal Partnership. About $2.4 million in combined total funding will be available to support projects such as stormwater management, addressing water scarcity, water quality protection, restoration, and source water protection including wetlands, riparian, forest, and water quality protection. The grant program will give special consideration to projects in the 19 Urban Waters Federal Partnership designated locations. For more information on the priority areas, click here, and for more information on the grant program, click here. Applications are due by February 3, 2016.
Environmental Literacy for Community Resilience grants – NOAA is providing grant funding to strengthen the public’s and/or K-12 students’ environmental literacy to enable informed decision-making necessary for community resilience to extreme weather events and other environmental hazards. Projects should build the environmental literacy necessary for community resilience by focusing geographic awareness and an understanding of Earth systems and the threats and vulnerabilities that are associated with a community’s location. Proposed projects must be between 2 and 5 years in duration and have total federal requests of $250,000 to $500,000 for all years of the project. For more information on how to apply can be found here. The deadline to apply is February 8, 2016. You can also contact Carrie McGouall, John McLaughlin, Sarah Schoedinger, or Christopher Nelson by emailing oed.grants@noaa.gov.
Environmental Justice Collaborative Problem-Solving Grants – EPA is providing a total of $1.2 million in Environmental Justice Collaborative Problem Solving (EJPCS) cooperative agreements aimed at addressing local environmental and public health issues within an affected community, with a focus on helping communities understand and address exposure to multiple environmental harms and risks. Cooperative agreements will be awarded to local communities through collaboration with other stakeholders, such as state and local governments, industry, academia, and non-governmental organizations. For more information on the grant program, click here. Applications are due by February 12, 2016.
Delaware Watershed Research Fund (DRWF) – This is a new opportunity for research funding intended to complement the broader watershed protection work of the William Penn Foundation. The Fund will build on the goals of the Delaware River Watershed Initiative (DRWI) to ensure water quality in the Delaware River Basin through restoration, protection, and monitoring of watersheds. The DWRF is designed to address key research needs that have been identified in relation to the Delaware River Watershed and the study of watershed processes. Prospective applicants should be researchers from academic institutions, non-profit organizations, and public agencies that allow the use of external funds. Letters of intent are due by February 16, 2016; Invitations for Proposals will be issued on March 1st; Formal proposals will be due by April 15th. For more information, click here. You can also contact anspgrants@drexel.edu with any questions.
On-Farm Conservation Assistance – Farmers who operate in parts of the Highlands and portions of south Jersey may be eligible for technical and financial assistance for conservation practices that promote water quality and quantity through USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP). Over $1 million is available for this region as part of the Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP) project in the Delaware River Watershed that was awarded in January 2015. Applications are due by February 19th. For more information, click here. Applicants eligible for EQIP who farm in the designated areas are encouraged to visit their local NRCS office to apply.
Partners for Fish and Wildlife Program – The PFW Program is a voluntary, cost-share program that provides direct technical assistance and financial assistance in the form of cooperative agreements to private landowners to restore and conserve fish and wildlife habitat. The program helps: restore habitats of federal trust species on private lands, including tribal, county, and municipal lands; restore wetlands, riparian, in-stream, and native upland habitats; remove barriers to fish passage; and, leverage funds and resources through efficient state, federal, and private partnerships. The deadline to apply is September 30, 2016. More information on how to apply can be found here. If you have any questions, contact Michael Murray at michael_murray@fws.org or 703-358-2031.
Information Resources
Schuylkill Action Network Survey – The Schuylkill Action Network is working on developing a 5-year strategic plan to improve the Schuylkill River watershed, and is seeking input through a short survey. The Schuylkill Action Network is a collaborative network of over 100 organizations, federal, state, and local governments, academia, and more, all working to protect and restore the Schuylkill River watershed. To take the survey, visit this link: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/RTBWP7L. Please feel free to share it with you network as well!