Between October 21 and January 15, 2010, thanks to a generous donation from Pepco Holdings Inc., and its subsidiaries Delmarva Power and Pepco, the Chesapeake Fund is soliciting proposals for conservation and restoration projects on agricultural lands with the intent to reduce the greatest amount of nitrogen as cost-effectively as possible.  This request for proposals is specific to the Tuckahoe Creek (Choptank river watershed) in Maryland.

For proposal guidelines, please click here. To view our list of implementation guidelines in their entirety, please click here. Note that as part of the project selection process, you must include an estimate of the expected nitrogen offsets over the life of the project. To assist you in these calculations, please download our Maryland Nitrogen Offset Calculation Forms for either pasture or crop best management practices (Note: requires Microsoft Excel).

Proposals should be mailed or emailed to Beth McGee, Senior Scientist, Chesapeake Bay Foundation, Philip Merrill Environmental Center, 6 Herndon Avenue, Annapolis, MD 21403, email: bmcgee@cbf.org. For any questions pertaining to this rfp, please contact Beth prior to the deadline using the email provided or by calling 410.268.8816.

As the Fund grows, we will expand our investments into other targeted areas, including: the Little Conestoga River (Susquehanna River watershed) in Lancaster PA and portions of the North River watershed, a tributary of the South Fork of the Shenandoah River (Potomac watershed), Virginia.

Why there? Because that's where science tells us we'll make the greatest possible impact on the overall health of the Bay. To select these watersheds, we relied on the Chesapeake Bay Program's Chesapeake Online Adaptive Support Toolkit (COAST) as well as consultation with USDA NRCS, soil conservation district staff, Chesapeake Bay Foundation restoration staff and other experts. We assessed:

• Current nitrogen pollutant loads for each area
• Current on-the-ground activities happening in the area
• The availability of technical assistance staff to work with private landowners
• The ability to monitor changes in nitrogen levels through existing in-stream monitoring sites or other means

The resulting watershed targets are relatively small (roughly 100 to 200 square miles) in order to maximize the likelihood of detecting measurable improvements in water quality over time as a result of our investments, but large enough for us to be discerning in the projects we fund.

This fall, we will implement our first set of nitrogen reduction projects. All projects that are financed by the Chesapeake Fund must adhere to the following principles:

• Additionality
  All projects must result in additional nitrogen reductions and/or removals compared to that which would otherwise have occurred in the absence of the Chesapeake Fund's financial support. Projects cannot be the result of any existing efforts to comply with legally mandated requirements (e.g., permit conditions, mitigation, settlement agreements) of any local, state, or federal permit. Projects supported by the Chesapeake Fund cannot be used as the private cost-share required for government agricultural conservation dollars, nor will projects paid for by government or private dollars for another purpose be eligible to generate nitrogen offsets.
• Acceptance
  All projects must be listed as accepted practices for reducing nitrogen under the recently revised Chesapeake Bay Program Best Management Practices (CBP BMP). Practices and management changes not currently credited as CBP BMPs and alternative implementation approaches for CBP BMPs may be considered for funding prior to being evaluated using the same approach and process used to establish the revised BMP effectiveness estimates and only when such estimates are deemed scientifically defensible and conservative.
• Durability and Endurance.
  The Chesapeake Fund only selects projects with the strongest likelihood that nitrogen reductions are sustainable and long term, with priority for those that could be sustained even beyond the contract period.
• Verification and Monitoring
  Implementation, operation, and maintenance of projects will be verified and documented using protocols and standards developed for the Chesapeake Fund in order to ensure that real, verifiable pollution reductions have been achieved.

Upon meeting the above criteria, projects will receive funding based on their total nitrogen reduction potential, cost effectiveness, probability of performance and/or delivery, and their ability to result in ancillary environmental benefits (such as reduced phosphorus and sediment loads, ability to sequester carbon, and improved wildlife habitat). Click here to download our Investment Guidelines which will be used to select projects.