The Chesapeake Bay Trust has funding available for our research questions around effectiveness of stormwater and stream restoration programs at the watershed/catchment scale (Q1, Q2); effectiveness of restoration practices at the project scale (Q3a/b, Q4, Q5a/b/c); social science research questions to accelerate adoption of BMPs and help quantify targeted outcomes (Q6, Q7a/b/c); and trade-offs in resource improvements incurred by restoration practices and the resulting net ecological change (Q8). Please share with others!

Summary: The Chesapeake Bay Trust, the Maryland Department of Natural Resources, the Environmental Protection Agency’s Chesapeake Bay Program Office, Anne Arundel County, Baltimore City, Charles County, Frederick County, Harford County, Montgomery County, Prince George’s County, and the Maryland Department of Transportation State Highway Administration, and other partners, such as Maryland Department of the Environment, announce a Request for Proposals for its Restoration Research award program. The goal of this research program is to answer several key restoration questions that are a barrier to watershed restoration project implementation. Funding partners hope that answering these questions will ultimately lead to increased confidence in proposed restoration project outcomes, clarification of the optimal site conditions in which to apply particular restoration techniques, how to bolster practice adoption using social science, information useful to regulatory agencies in project permitting, and information that will help guide monitoring programs. This program supports the Pooled Monitoring Initiative which is designed to connect key stormwater and stream restoration questions posed by the regulatory and practitioner communities with researchers. This program also supports research for pollutants of emerging concern, social science, “trade-offs” and more. Each year the top research questions are added to this RFP and some years past research questions are cycled off while we await findings to inform the next question’s iteration. The Pooled Monitoring Initiative pools funding resources to answer your top research questions and deliver the results back to you for use.

  • This program funds: Research to address one or more of the key restoration questions listed in the Request for Proposals (RFP).
  • Who can apply: Both not-for-profit entities (academic institutions, non-profit organizations) and for-profit entities are permitted to apply.
  • How much can be awarded: Funding partners have allocated just over $1.8 M for this research program. Literature reviews will be funded at up to $50,000 and there is no cap for research projects.
  • RFP and program details are at: https://cbtrust.org/grants/restoration-research/
  • Information Session: An online information session will be held January 7, 2025, from 12pm to 1pm EST. Register at https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZUufuqsqDotGdIIqcQaXQ9znYoqQATYh-tS
  • Due date: January 23, 2025
  • Application Process: The Chesapeake Bay Trust’s applications are all submitted through an online system. If you have questions regarding the application process, please contact this program’s managers, Sadie Drescher at sdrescher@cbtrust.org and 410-974-2941, ext. 105 and/or Scott Lopez at slopez@cbtrust.org and 410-974-2941, ext. 138.