Environment Maryland Research & Policy Center, Inc.
$40,000 / 2010 / Environment
Toward support of the Restore the Chesapeake Bay campaign. Environment Maryland, in response to the Restoration Executive Order to restore the Chesapeake Bay, is undertaking research to inform decision-makers about pollution issues, holding press conferences and arranging for media coverage—all toward educating the community about the need for upgrades of sewage treatment plans, and for reduction of nutrients and fertilizers on farms and lawns that leach into the bay waters.
Chesapeake Climate Action Network (CCAN)
$25,000 / 2010 / Environment
Additional funding for staffing support of the Maryland Open Government Campaign, the goal of which is to make existing environmental laws more effective, encouraging Maryland leaders to enact changes in the state’s enforcement program, and to build a network of informed Maryland citizens working toward internal institutional reforms. By acting as a “watch-dog” group, CCAN will use grassroots mobilization to organize public comments and testimonies at permit hearings. It will also identify and recruit well-informed experts in public health, biological sciences, and climate issues to represent citizens in affected communities, and to voice their concerns about noncompliance among known polluters and lack of enforcement.
Chesapeake Bay Foundation
$5,000 / 2010 / Environment
In support of the 2011 Environmental Legislative Summit. The summit will focus on issues that include implementation of a stormwater utility program to address failing systems, sustained funding for the Chesapeake Bay Restoration Fund, continued smart-growth strategies, and wind energy.
Blue Water Baltimore (formerly Baltimore Water Alliance)
$30,000 / 2010 / Environment
For a challenge grant to launch an inaugural membership campaign for Blue Water Baltimore, a merger of five Baltimore watershed associations. By creating a consolidated organization with a common mission, the newly formed organization will be able to increase its capacity, be cost efficient, reduce duplication, attract and retain specialized staff, expand volunteer opportunities, undertake more effective fundraising, and work toward creating a stronger and more united voice for local watersheds.
American Farmland Trust
$45,000 / 2010 / Environment
Toward support of Clean Water for the Chesapeake Bay, a project designed to reduce nutrient runoff into the Chesapeake Bay and to improve its water quality. The focus of the three-year campaign is to engage local farmers in adopting best practices, and developing and supporting policies to increase agricultural-inclusive actions. With participation of seven local farmers in Maryland, a demonstration project using Best Management Practices Challenge Tools, American Farmland Trust will introduce the computerized systems to determine how to calculate more exact amounts of fertilizer needed. This measured approach is expected to reduce the amount of nitrogen spread on the fields, thus lowering nutrient runoff.
