保护协会获得国家南焦保护基金

A conservation proposal developed and coordinated by the 十大赌博正规老平台 has been awarded $1 million by the Department of Defense to conserve land in the Nanticoke River corridor, a part of Naval Air Station Patuxent River’s Atlantic 测试 Range. The award was made under the 2014 Readiness and Environmental Protection Integration Program Challenge (REPI) and is one of only two this year, 也是自REPI挑战开始以来仅有的三个之一.

The 十大赌博正规老平台’s proposal includes the conservation of more than 2,000英亩的土地上有高度生物多样性的动植物, 优先工作用地, and areas important to the continued operation of Naval Air Station Patuxent River.

NAS Patuxent River is home to the Navy’s premier 空气craft Research, 发展, 测试, 和评估设施，并依赖土地, 空气, and sea ranges of the Atlantic 测试 Range to conduct its mission. The lands to be conserved through the REPI Challenge award will help reduce noise and safety concerns, and prevent costly restrictions and delays to training and testing.

与REPI挑战协调, the Naval Air Station has been identified as a Federal Sentinel Landscapes finalist. “哨兵”景观项目是美国和加拿大之间的合作项目.S. 美国农业部(USDA).S. Department of the Interior’s US 鱼 and 野生动物 Service (USFWS), and the Department of Defense. Sentinel Landscapes are primarily working or natural lands where preserving the working and rural character of key landscapes strengthens the economies of farms, 牧场, and forests; conserves habitat and natural resources; and protects vital test and training missions conducted on those military installations. If Naval Air Station Patuxent River is chosen as a Sentinel Landscape, the region supporting the base (including the Nanticoke corridor) will receive added focus, 潜在的资源, 来自美国农业部, USFWS和国防部. 

乔尔·邓恩, 十大赌博正规老平台协会的执行董事, noted that the Nanticoke River is among the least developed of Chesapeake Bay tributaries and that several thousand acres in the watershed have already been protected.

然而, Dunn说, “The conservation corridor is fragmented and the 十大赌博正规老平台’s Nanticoke Initiative, REPI拨款将帮助支持哪些项目, 计划是为了填补缺失的部分吗, particularly ecologically significant properties that might also provide public access to the Captain John Smith 切萨皮克国家历史步道, 保护大西洋试验场.”

执行项目, NAS帕塔克森特河将与十大赌博正规老平台协会合作, 的物, 美国农业部自然资源保护局, 马里兰州和特拉华州的自然资源部, 自然保育基金, 和大自然保护协会. The REPI award of $1 million will be leveraged more than 5:1 with contributions from this partnership. 目标是保护2,259英亩森林, 湿地, 和农田, 作为十大赌博正规老平台协会的一部分,500英亩的野生动物走廊.

The Nanticoke initiative has been generously supported by the Mt. 古巴中心和朗伍德基金会. The initiative’s large scale approach to conservation is critical to preventing landscape fragmentation and allows for the migration of species and habitats in the face of sea level rise, which is particularly important as the Nanticoke watershed is considered one of the most vulnerable areas in the nation, 仅次于路易斯安那州和南佛罗里达州.

安C. 罗斯，Mt .的董事会主席. 古巴中心, 说保护走廊包括各种各样的栖息地, including a rare xeric sand ridge forest and Atlantic white cedar non-tidal 湿地. “This project will help keep the test range viable while it also protects communities of rare plants and the Nanticoke’s landscapes,罗斯说, 添加, “Mt. 古巴中心, 哪个对稀有植物特别感兴趣, 是否愿意提供资金支持这项工作.”

总共, 124年罕见, 威胁, 以及濒危动植物物种, 包括联邦濒危物种德尔马瓦狐松鼠, 在保育走廊内发现的动物. The area is also part of the Nanticoke Important Bird Area and the internationally important Chesapeake Bay Estuarine Ramsar site, serving large concentrations of migratory waterfowl and Neotropical migratory birds.

在获得这个奖项之前, the Conservancy worked with its partners to conserve over 130 acres identified through the Nanticoke River Conservation Corridor Initiative. 在2月份, the Conservancy partnered with the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control (DNREC) to conserve 114 acres of ecologically sensitive habitat west of Bethel, DE. 6月, 保护协会与DNREC合作, 自然保育基金, and the Nanticoke River Watershed Conservancy to conserve the 17.7英亩的教堂分支自然区摩尔道. This property will be owned by the Nanticoke River Watershed Conservancy and an easement created for the land will be held by DNREC. Maryland Department of Natural Resources Secretary Joe Gill said “Maryland has made significant investments in the Nanticoke Corridor, a landscape rich not only in natural habitats and living resources, but also rich in the history and culture of our state and its indigenous people. We look forward to building upon our success through the REPI program that allows us to partner on important conservation initiatives with organizations like the 十大赌博正规老平台, 自然保育基金, 以及其他州和联邦合作伙伴.”
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关于十大赌博正规老平台协会:
The 十大赌博正规老平台’s mission is to strengthen the connection between people and the watershed, conserve the landscapes and special places that sustain the Chesapeake’s unique natural and cultural resources, and encourage the exploration and celebration of the Chesapeake as a national treasure. 有关信息，请访问www.ChesapeakeConservancy.org.