Federal and private matching grants totaling nearly $35 million were announced in August for Delaware River Watershed conservation projects, writes Frank Kummer for The Philadelphia Inquirer.

The grants include $1.4 million to Radnor Township to remove contaminated soil, manage stormwater, and plant more than 1,300 trees in the West Wayne Preserve Friends of Radnor Trail in Wayne.

The money comes from nearly $15 million in grants from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and $20 million in matching funds from groups such as the Philadelphia-based William Penn Foundation.

Funds will flow to 36 conservation projects, including local trail creations, stream restorations, shoreline enhancements, and wildlife habitat improvements.

The money will go toward planning, hiring, and construction of projects in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, and New York.

“The Delaware River’s diverse watershed, which flows through nearly 330 miles of the mid-Atlantic region … provides vital habitat for important wildlife species, including threatened red knots and vulnerable salt marsh sparrow, forest birds rebounding from decline, as well as previously abundant fish such as river herring, American shad, and eastern brook trout,” said Jeff Trandahl, executive director and CEO of NFWF.

See beyond the Radnor trail with the entire list of watershed conversation projects in The Philadelphia Inquirer.