WILMINGTON – The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service have announced that the Christina Conservancy will be awarded a grant from the 2020 Delaware River Watershed Conservation Fund.
Almost $250,000 from this fund will support a multi-year effort to make the lower Christina and Brandywine Rivers in Wilmington fishable and swimmable.
The Christina Conservancy will use these funds to develop plans for the lower Christina & Brandywine River Remediation, Restoration and Resilience. This award is a result of collaboration between the Christina Conservancy, the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control, BrightFields, Inc., Partnership for the Delaware Estuary, and Sarver Ecological, with input and support from many others. Awarded funds will be used to develop a cohesive vision, strategies and hands-on projects for addressing contamination and restoring fish and wildlife habitat in and around these rivers.
“Being able to swim in and eat fish from these rivers are long term goals,” said Marian Young, president of BrightFields.
“The Christina Conservancy, DNREC, the Riverfront Development Corporation and the city of Wilmington continue to make major cleanup strides; CBR4 is the path to take us the rest of the way. This grant launches a new level of river stewardship.”
For additional information about the Christina Conservancy and CBR4 project, visit www.ChristinaConservancy.org.
For more information about the 2020 Delaware River Watershed Conservation Fund see www.nfwf.org/sites/default/files/2020-09/dwcf- 2020-grant-slate.pdf.