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.
Chesapeake Legal Alliance
$50,000 / 2011 / Environment
Toward providing pro bono legal services in an effort to protect and restore the Chesapeake Bay. Volunteer attorneys are recruited to represent nonprofits, individuals, and agencies seeking legal expertise on matters related to improving the Bay.ﾠ
Chesapeake Media Service, Inc.
$5,000 / 2011 / Environment
Toward support of an urban reporting initiative to provide in-depth coverage of environmental problems facing urban areas in the Chesapeake Bay watershed.
Maryland League of Conservation Voters Education Fund
$10,000 / 2011 / Environment
For continued support of programs designed to educate conservation voters about key public policy issues on open space, transportation, and storm-water management. By serving as a communications hub with its enhanced online list reaching more than 241,000 environmental voters, the League is in a position to advance conservation policies and to strengthen the environmental collective voice of Maryland.
The Sierra Club Foundation
$30,000 / 2011 / Environment
Toward support of the Beyond Coal Maryland project, an effort to end burning coal for energy. The campaign has been designed to reduce dependency on coal as a major source of energy and to encourage the development of cleaner alternative energy.