Maryland League of Conservation Voters Education Fund
$10,000 / 2012 / Environment
To strengthen Maryland’s environmental voice by educating voters on priority public policy issues. These issues include open space funding, transportation, offshore wind energy, and storm water management. The league will rely extensively on email alerts, its website, blogging, and social networking, in an effort to engage its base of 241,000 online environmental activists.
Midshore Riverkeeper Conservancy
$20,000 / 2012 / Environment
Toward support of the Water Quality Monitoring Program, for the Choptank River, the Tred Avon River, the Miles and Wye rivers, and the Eastern Bay. More than 50 trained volunteers are engaged in the extensive water-monitoring program, which tests 84 sites bi-monthly to detect hot spots, illegal discharges, farm runoff, septic tank leakages, erosion sediment, and algae blooms. Findings are included in the conservancy’s second annual report and incorporated into the Phase II Watershed Implementation Plan for Talbot, Kent, and Caroline counties.
1000 Friends of Maryland
$35,000 / 2012 / Environment
Two-year funding for the continued support of staffing and expenses related to the Partners for Open Space campaign. The campaign advocates holding intact funding dedicated to the state real estate transfer tax fund earmarked for conservation projects.
Chesapeake Bay Foundation
$5,000 / 2012 / Environment
For support of the 2013 Environmental Legislative Summit, which focuses on priority issues.
Chesapeake Climate Action Network
$60,000 / 2012 / Environment
For continued staffing support and expansion of the Maryland Healthy Communities campaign in collaboration with the Environmental Integrity Project. The goals are to ensure that Maryland’s environmental laws are enforced, Maryland Department of Environment programs are meeting federal standards, and the decision-making process is transparent.