Restoration projects throughout the country are funded through a variety of means. By understanding what these mechanisms are, and general trends in their use, the public can be better informed about how to increase funding for restoration activities. This report analyzes funding in the states of California, Montana, and Oregon; Humboldt County within California; and the watersheds of Lake Tahoe, Puget Sound, the Everglades, and Chesapeake Bay. State and local governments in these places usually provide the majority of funds for watershed restoration projects, although the federal government does contribute significantly to the costs. Certain areas of federal spending are difficult to track, however, thus this report may underestimate federal funding levels. The large-scale and consistently viable restoration projects in this report have a variety of different funding mechanisms, coming from multiple levels of government. Bonds, general fund revenues, and dedicated funding streams fund most restoration efforts. A heavy reliance on issuing debt, however, may harm the continuance of some projects.
