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2019 TBERF grants announced

The Tampa Bay Environmental Restoration Fund (TBERF) is a competitive grants program with the goal of funding projects which restore and protect Tampa Bay and its watershed. It is managed through a strategic partnership between the Tampa Bay Estuary Program (TBEP) and Restore America’s Estuaries (RAE), who work together to encourage local and national contributions from the public and private sectors and achieve measurable conservation outcomes. The founding partners of TBERF are the Tampa Bay Estuary Program, Restore America’s Estuaries, Southwest Florida Water Management District, and The Mosaic Company.

The 2019 grantees have been announced. Learn more about their projects here »

The goal of the TBERF is to establish the habitat, species, and nutrient reduction priorities that have been developed by the Tampa Bay Estuary Program and its partners, and outlined in the Comprehensive Conservation and Management Plan (CCMP) Charting the Course. Eligible projects will advance the following priorities:

  • Recover an additional 5,103 acres of seagrass over 2010 levels, while preserving the bay’s existing grass beds and reducing propeller scarring of seagrasses.
  • Prevent increases in nitrogen entering the bay and assist in maintaining nitrogen loading at 2003-2007 levels by implementing innovative stormwater management projects and programs.
  • “Restore the historic balance” of coastal wetland habitats by restoring an additional 1,918 acres of salt marsh, including low-salinity tidal marsh, as approved in the TBEP 2010 Habitat Master Plan Update.
  • Restore an additional 840 acres of salt barren (saltern) habitat in Tampa