Conservationists celebrate more than 200 federally funded projects to restore waterways in Delaware watershed

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Removing dams to restore fish passage, creating rain gardens to reduce flooding and stormwater runoff and building trails to improve access to the outdoors — these are just some of the projects funded by the Delaware Watershed Conservation Fund each year.

On Monday, environmental agencies celebrated seven years of conservation work funded by the federal grants.

The program funds habitat restoration and conservation initiatives throughout the Delaware River watershed. This year, 45 projects received over $17 million in funding — the largest amount spent in the fund’s history.

“The health of the environment is so intricately tied to the health of people and our mental health, our physical health, the economy, and just the opportunity to get out in nature and the awe of nature and the beauty of nature,” said Wendi Weber, regional director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. “It’s so critically important that we continue the work out on the ground, and preserve and conserve these special places, not only for us, but the future generations.”

The program, launched in 2018 by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service and the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, was made possible by the 2016 passage of the congressional Delaware River Basin Conservation Act.

Since 2018, the fund has awarded more than $72 million to more than 200 projects that aim to restore habitat and wetlands, and improve water quality.