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A wood turtle turns away from the camera, exposing its pink neck. It has a brown shell and rests on a mossy surface.

Northeast Forests and Rivers Fund

Wood turtle

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.

Partners

Since its creation in 2015, the Northeast Forests and Rivers Fund has awarded 96 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 1,271 miles of streams for eastern brook trout and river herring through modification or replacement of 168 barriers to fish passage;
  • Improve management of 5,663 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;
  • Plant 98 miles of forested stream buffers to improve water quality for brook trout;
  • Plant 16,000 native trees; and
  • Recruit at least 2,675 volunteers to engage in on-the-ground conservation.

The program has awarded more than $12.8 million in grant funding to date. Grantees, in turn, are leveraging an additional $22.7 million in matching contributions, for a total conservation impact of more than $35.5 million.

Application Information


Northeast Forests and Rivers Fund 2023 Request for Proposals - CLOSED View Now
NEFRF 2023 Applicant Webinar Recording View Now
NEFRF 2023 Applicant Webinar Slides View Now
Grantee Orientation Webinar View Now
Grantee Orientation Webinar Recording View Now
Subrecipient Environmental Compliance Acknowledgment View Now
ESA Evaluation Template View Now
Environmental Compliance Checklist for NFWF Projects View Now
Program Fact Sheet Download the PDF
2023 Grant Slate Download the PDF
2022 Grant Slate Download the PDF
2021 Grant Slate Download the PDF
2020 Grant Slate Download the PDF
2019 Grant Slate Download the PDF
2018 Grant Slate Download the PDF
2017 Grant Slate Download the PDF
2016 Grant Slate Download the PDF
2015 Project Fact Sheets Download the PDF
Staff Representatives

Director, Northeastern Regional Office

Manager, Northeastern Regional Office

Senior Scientist, Bird Conservation