Substantial funder attends MWA Annual Meeting

I want to take a minute to thank Andy Johnson, Director of the Watershed Protection Program for the William Penn Foundation again for speaking at MWA's Annual Members' Meeting last night, Thursday, April 5th. The William Penn Foundation is a family foundation that supports everything from education to the arts to watershed protection. Andy provides leadership to the Foundation on initiatives that support science, ecological restoration, community engagement, and environmental education efforts in the 4 Delaware River watershed states. On behalf of MWA, we were honored he spoke to our audience since the Musconetcong River is part of the larger Delaware River basin.

The mission of the William Penn Foundation includes support for efforts "to protect the rivers and streams that provide clean drinking water for more than 15 million people across 4 states." MWA received its first grant from them in the Spring of 2014 as part of the Foundation's Delaware River Watershed Initiative (DRWI). Through this collaborative initiative, the Foundation has aligned its grants to 65 high-capacity watershed associations, land trusts, conservation advocacy organizations, and research institutions to advance strategic restoration and protection efforts in 8 focus regions in the larger Delaware River watershed.

Since then, MWA has partnered with 10 other Foundation grantees within the NJ Highlands region to develop and implement watershed protection projects that include managing stormwater runoff issues, and working with local farmers on how to become stewards of the river and maintain effective management practices.

MWA is honored to be apart of this initiative. For more information on the initiative, click here. For information on the William Penn Foundation, click here.