Northeast Forests and Rivers Fund

Northeast Forests and Rivers Fund is sponsored by National Fish and Wildlife Foundation. This fund is dedicated to restoring and sustaining healthy forests and rivers that provide habitat for diverse native bird and freshwater fish populations in the Northeastern United States. Grants are awarded annually for competitive projects.

Northeast Forests and Rivers Fund | NFWF Northeast Forests and Rivers Fund Northeast Forests and Rivers Fund is dedicated to restoring and sustaining healthy forests and rivers that provide habitat for diverse native bird and freshwater fish populations in the Northeastern United States. The program annually awards competitive grants ranging from $75,000 to $300,000 each.

Since its creation in 2015, the Northeast Forests and Rivers Fund has awarded 110 grants that will restore early successional and mature forest habitat, modify and replace barriers to fish movement, restore riparian and instream habitat, and engage thousands of volunteers in forest habitat restoration and stream connectivity projects in Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont, plus the Lake Champlain, Saint Lawrence and Upper Hudson watersheds in New York.

These projects are expected to: Open 1,951 miles of streams for brook trout and river herring through modification or replacement of 182 barriers to fish passage; Improve management of 6,434 acres of young forest habitat for golden-winged warbler, New England cottontail and American woodcock; Improve management of 9,662 acres of mature and late successional forest habitat for black-throated blue warbler and wood thrush; Engage 3,083 volunteers in on-the-ground conservation.

The program has awarded more than $16 million in grant funding to date. Grantees, in turn, are leveraging an additional $26 million in matching contributions, for a total conservation impact of more than $42 million.

Request for Proposals: Contract for Media Outreach and Communications Support for the Northeast Regional Office - CLOSED Northeast Forests and Rivers Fund 2025 Request for Proposals - CLOSED Subrecipient Environmental Compliance Acknowledgment Environmental Compliance Checklist for NFWF Projects Program Director, Northeast Watersheds Senior Manager, Northeast Watersheds Senior Scientist, Bird Conservation Coordinator, Regional Programs The American woodcock is a well-camouflaged migratory woodland shorebird.

The bird feeds on earthworms, is a popular game species, and requires early successional forest habitat for feeding and nesting. Woodcocks are harbingers of spring, with returning males conducting elaborate aerial courtship displays along old field edges as the last winter snows recede.

Central Appalachia Habitat Stewardship Program Northeast Forests and Rivers Fund Credit: USFWS/Ann Froschauer Credit: USFWS/Ann Froschauer Northern long-eared bats are native to the old growth forests of the eastern and north-central United States.

Populations in the northeastern United States have been severely affected by white-nose syndrome, a fungal disease that affects their hibernation, which led to their listing as an endangered species in 2015. Northeast Forests and Rivers Fund Alewife and blueback herring—collectively known as river herring—are diadromous fishes that spend most of their lives at sea but return to river and streams to spawn.

Once abundant throughout the Atlantic seaboard, river herring populations have declined due to overfishing and habitat loss associated with the construction of dams. Recent conservation efforts have seen millions of river herring return to streams throughout New England, a promising sign not just for river herring, but also myriad other species that rely on them as an important food source.

Bring Back the Native Fish Chesapeake Bay Stewardship Fund Long Island Sound Futures Fund Northeast Forests and Rivers Fund Delaware River Watershed Business Plan Chesapeake Bay Business Plan Cape May warbler is a spruce-fir boreal forest-nesting neotropical migrant that spends the breeding season in northern North America and non-breeding period in the Caribbean.

They are often seen as a flash of brilliant yellow and rust as they forage actively in the tops of trees where they are dependent on spruce budworm caterpillars. Northeast Forests and Rivers Fund Eastern hardwood forest birds Eastern hardwood forest birds Eastern deciduous forests provide important habitat for forest birds, which can reside in them year-round, or rely on them as breeding grounds or stop-over sited during migration.

Deciduous forests have been subject to fragmentation, putting the wide variety of bird species they support at risk.

Central Appalachia Habitat Stewardship Program Chesapeake Bay Stewardship Fund Conservation Partners Program Cumberland Plateau and Southern Appalachian Stewardship Fund Longleaf Landscape Stewardship Fund Lower Mississippi Alluvial Valley Restoration Fund Northeast Forests and Rivers Fund Longleaf Forests and Rivers Lower Mississippi Alluvial Valley Lower Mississippi Alluvial Valley Business Plan Black-throated blue warbler Black-throated blue warbler Black-throated blue warbler is a neotropical migrant that nests in the rich deciduous and mixed coniferous forests of eastern North America.

Breeding male and females are sexually dimorphic, meaning they have vastly different appearances—so much so that they were originally described as two separate species. While males have a black face and throat with a blue head and back, females are a plain grayish olive color.

Central Appalachia Habitat Stewardship Program Cumberland Plateau and Southern Appalachian Stewardship Fund Northeast Forests and Rivers Fund Moose are the largest of the deer species and the tallest mammals in North America. Their populations are limited to the northern forests of the United States and Canada, and they have thick, insulating fur to thermoregulate during the winter months.

Moose forage on a variety forest plants and trees, and will also incorporate aquatic vegetation in their diet at certain times of the year.

Acres for America Program Northeast Forests and Rivers Fund Rocky Mountain Rangelands Program Western Big Game Seasonal Habitat and Migration Corridors Fund Rocky Mountain Rangelands Credit: MassWildlife/Bill Byrne Credit: MassWildlife/Bill Byrne The American shad is an anadromous fish that can be found in rivers and coastal waters along the entire Atlantic coast.

Once supporting a large commercial fishery, shad have declined in abundance following decades of overfishing and the construction of dams along migration routes, which reduces access to spawning habitat.

Bring Back the Native Fish Chesapeake Bay Stewardship Fund Long Island Sound Futures Fund Northeast Forests and Rivers Fund Delaware River Watershed Business Plan Karner blue butterflies measure only 1 inch wide, and are native to the oak savannas stretching from New York to Minnesota. The species requires specialized habitats where wild blue lupine is abundant, the exclusive food plant for Karner caterpillars.

Populations were in steep decline following habitat loss and modifications, which prompted their listing as an endangered species in 1992.

Monarch Butterfly and Pollinators Conservation Fund Northeast Forests and Rivers Fund Southeast Michigan Resilience Fund Credit: Lisa Nordstrom Kuck Credit: Lisa Nordstrom Kuck Pollinators are a group of insect, avian and mammalian species that fertilize many flowering plants and agricultural crops by transferring pollen from the male structures (anthers) to the female structures (stigma) during foraging.

More than 80 percent of flowering plants on Earth need pollinators to produce the next generation, and it is estimated that they add hundreds of billions of dollars to the global economy, highlighting their extreme importance to human food security.

Conservation Partners Program Monarch Butterfly and Pollinators Conservation Fund Northeast Forests and Rivers Fund Southeast Michigan Resilience Fund Monarch Butterfly Business Plan Bay-breasted warblers nest in spruce and fir forests across Canada, and can be found in Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont and the Adirondack Park of New York.

While they occupy similar habitats as Cape May and blackpoll warblers, bay-breasted warblers in particular forage at the inner mid-level, and nest in the lower third-level, of trees.

Central Appalachia Habitat Stewardship Program Chesapeake Bay Stewardship Fund Conservation Partners Program Cumberland Plateau and Southern Appalachian Stewardship Fund Longleaf Landscape Stewardship Fund Lower Mississippi Alluvial Valley Restoration Fund Northeast Forests and Rivers Fund Longleaf Forests and Rivers Lower Mississippi Alluvial Valley A well-known inhabitant of eastern deciduous forests, the wood thrush is known for its flute-like song during the mating season.

Wood thrush are excellent indicators of moist, mature forests with structurally complex mid and understories. Habitat loss and degraded habitat quality on both breeding and wintering grounds have resulted in population declines since at least 1970.

Central Appalachia Habitat Stewardship Program Chesapeake Bay Stewardship Fund Cumberland Plateau and Southern Appalachian Stewardship Fund Northeast Forests and Rivers Fund Central Appalachia Business Plan Delaware River Watershed Business Plan One of North America's most iconic species, the monarch butterfly is best known for its spectacular 3,000-mile annual migration from its northern breeding grounds to wintering grounds in central Mexico.

A distinct, western monarch population migrates between the western states and their winter range in coastal California; both the eastern and western populations have been negatively affected by habitat loss and reduction in milkweed plants that serve as the sole food source for monarch caterpillars.

Conservation Partners Program Monarch Butterfly and Pollinators Conservation Fund Northeast Forests and Rivers Fund Southern Plains Grassland Program Monarch Butterfly Business Plan The golden-winged warbler is a striking, neotropical songbird with bright yellow plumage on the crown and wings.

Their breeding range formerly extended across the Midwest to the east, but is now restricted to two isolated subpopulations: one in the higher-elevation areas of the Appalachians and the other around the Great Lakes into Manitoba. Loss of early succesional has resulted in population declines especially for the eastern population.

Central Appalachia Habitat Stewardship Program Chesapeake Bay Stewardship Fund Cumberland Plateau and Southern Appalachian Stewardship Fund Longleaf Landscape Stewardship Fund Northeast Forests and Rivers Fund Longleaf Forests and Rivers Central Appalachia Business Plan Delaware River Watershed Business Plan Brook trout are the only trout native to the eastern United States and inhabit coldwater rivers and lakes.

Sensitive to even small declines in water quality and increases in sedimentation, brook trout can serve as excellent indicators of the health of a stream or river ecosystem.

Acres for America Program Bring Back the Native Fish Central Appalachia Habitat Stewardship Program Chesapeake Bay Stewardship Fund Conservation Partners Program Northeast Forests and Rivers Fund Sustain Our Great Lakes Program Central Appalachia Business Plan Chesapeake Bay Business Plan Delaware River Watershed Business Plan Great Lakes Business Plan The cerulean warbler is a small, migrant songbird named for the male's sky-blue plumage.

It is dependent on contiguous tracts of mature, deciduous forest habitat throughout its breeding range in the eastern United States, and is particularly sensitive to the negative effects of forest fragmentation which has contributed to widespread population declines.

Central Appalachia Habitat Stewardship Program Chesapeake Bay Stewardship Fund Cumberland Plateau and Southern Appalachian Stewardship Fund Longleaf Landscape Stewardship Fund Northeast Forests and Rivers Fund Longleaf Forests and Rivers Delaware River Watershed Business Plan Central Appalachia Business Plan The threatened Canada Lynx is a medium-sized carnivore that inhabits boreal forests where their massive paws make them adapted to traveling through deep snow.

These solitary hunters rely on contiguous, structurally diverse forest habitat that support abundant populations of their favorite prey, the snowshoe hare. Northeast Forests and Rivers Fund NFWF Announces $1. 1 Million in Grants to Restore Northeast Forests and Rivers NFWF Announces $2 Million in Grants to Benefit Forests and Watersheds of the Northeast Nearly $1M Awarded to Audubon Conservation Projects in Connecticut and New York