The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) today announced $2.1 million in grants to restore and enhance aquatic habitats for vulnerable native freshwater aquatic species in watersheds within Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, Tennessee and Texas. The grants will generate more than $2.9 million in matching contributions for a total conservation impact of more than $5 million.

The grants were awarded through the Southeast Aquatics Fund, a partnership between NFWF and the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Service, the U.S. Forest Service, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and Southern Company.

“The Southeast is a critical region for aquatic biodiversity in the United States, and the Southeast Aquatics Fund plays a vital role in protecting many of the imperiled species in this region,” said Jeff Trandahl, executive director and CEO of NFWF. “This program especially helps to build conservation momentum for some of the remarkable, but lesser known, aquatic species such as the Alabama rainbow and the Georgia blind salamander, and the habitats they depend on in the Southeast.”

The 11 projects announced today will conduct outreach and provide assistance to private landowners to implement conservation practices, make improvements to stream crossings, and monitor targeted species to better understand their status and habitat conditions. In total, these projects will benefit more than 20 miles of stream habitat, improve management of more than 50,000 acres of working lands, and benefit species including the bridled and trispot darter, blue shiner, Alabama rainbow and Coosa creekshell.

“Water quality is essential for healthy stream habitat and a cornerstone of natural resources conservation,” said NRCS Acting Chief Kevin Norton. “Through these projects, NRCS will have enhanced opportunities to partner and work on private working lands watersheds across these vital southeastern landscapes.”