EPA Region 2 & Region 3
September 2014 Webinar Presentation
DELAWARE RIVER WATERSHED INITATIVE
Accelerating Conservation, Assessing Impact
featuring
NJ HIGHLANDS CLUSTER
Association of New
Jersey
Environmental
Commissions
Hunterdon Land
Trust
Musconetcong
Watershed
Association
New Jersey
Audubon Society
New Jersey
Conservation
Foundation
New Jersey Highlands
Coalition
North Jersey RC&D
The Land Conservancy
of New Jersey
The Nature
Conservancy
Trout Unlimited
Trust for Public Lands
Wallkill River
Watershed
Management Group
Delaware River Watershed
… an extraordinary resource
• Spans 13,500 sq. miles
• Provides drinking water for
~ 15M people
• Enables $25B/yr business
• Supports globally rare
species & habitats
• Offers abundant recreation
Targeting specific
watershed stressors:
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–
–
–
Headwaters Forest loss/fragmentation
Stormwater run-off (volume & NPSP)
Agricultural run-off (NPSP & volume)
Sustainable aquifer (pollution & depletion)
(source: DRN)
(source: PEC)
(source: BCC)
3
(source: PPA)
Criteria for Watershed Investments
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•
•
•
•
Potential for Significant Impact
Urgency to Act
Organization Capacity
Cost Efficiency
Ability to Measure Impact
Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area
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•
•
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Target and Prioritize places and issues, driven by science and data
Identify baseline and changing conditions
Fund strong and effective organizations
Monitor change and impact of interventions
Leverage other work by public and private funders
Share learning to strengthen impact, encouraging replication
Delaware River Watershed Initiative - Clusters
GOAL:
Ensure a
sufficient supply of clean water
through ecosystem services
provided by adequately
protected and restored
watersheds
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•
•
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INITATIVE’S FOUNDATIONAL CORNERSTONES
Targeting – can work be focused to ensure cumulative benefits ?
Scale - can work make a difference given the scale & stressors of the place or issue ?
Metrics – how will we know if the work is successful (or not) ?
Replication – strategy to expand successful work ?
Capacity – can someone delivering work at a scale to have impact ?
Alignment/Leverage – can work align to magnify impact/improve efficiency/effectiveness ?
2014 – Wm PENN FOUNDATION granted :
• OVER $35M in OP & CAPITAL FUNDS (3-yr investment)
• OF WHICH $9M is via OSI for COMPETETIVE LAND PROTECTION CAPITAL
•
$7M is via NFWF for COMPETETIVE RESTORATION CAPITAL
• & OVER $14M is for 3-YR OPERATIONAL FUNDS to 43 CONSERVATION NONPROFITS
Delaware River Watershed Initative & NJ Highlands Cluster
FUNDING METRICS TO DATE
Number of
Geographic
TOTAL PLAN
Cluster
Area of
$
nonprofits
Watershed
43
$230M +/-
11
$32M +/14%
ALL
NJ
HIGHLANDS
WPF
OPERATIONAL
GRANTS
APPROVED
$14.5M
OSI COMPETETIVE
GRANTS (Round 1)
NFWF
COMPETETIVE
GRANTS (Round 1)
$5.8M rqstd
$2.4M approved
$1.8M
TBD
$282K
12%
?
12%
Delaware River Watershed Protection Fund - Round I
Number of Amount
Projects Requested
16 Projects
5 Projects
$5.8M +/$1.7M +/30%
Geographic
Area of
Watershed
Total
Subject
Property
Acreage
Sub. in
FeeAcres
Total
Sub. in
Match
CE-Acres Property
Acreage
ALL CLUSTERS
NJ Highlands
10,278
2,893
4,242
$364
5,488
$2,529
462
75
404
50
58
25
10740
2968
$30,963,609
$9,696,143
$29,282,429
$9,490,443
$2M +/?
28%
9%
46%
16%
12%
43%
28%
31%
32%
?
Match in
Total
Match in
Total Eligible Total FMV of
FeeProject
CE-Acres
Project Costs Properties
Acres
Acreage
4
Likely
Approvals