Chesapeake Bay Stewardship Fund
Funding Organization Lead: National Fish and Wildlife Foundation
Program Contacts
Jake Reilly, Program Director
Oleksandr Faryga, Program Manager
Tori Sullens, Program Manager
Ragan Smith, Regional Program Coordinator
Victoria Moreno, Regional Program Coordinator
CBSF RFPs
For detailed instructions on submitting your application, please visit the RFP documentation. Be sure to adhere to all guidelines and deadlines stated in the RFP.
Submit a CBSF Application
Data Concierge Service
For the 2026 SWG and WILD RFPs, applicants can work directly with FieldDoc experts to create their pact and configure the activity records. The process should take about four weeks. Applicants can register for the service through March 1, 2026.
Applicant Training Videos
NFWF FieldDoc Recording - Hosted February 4, 2026
Apply for funding
The following walks through the key steps to completing the FieldDoc portion of your application.
Create FieldDoc Account
The organization submitting the application must be the owner of the related activity records and Pact in FieldDoc. Collaborators and technical service providers should create accounts within their own organizations, then be invited into the applicant organization’s workspace to help configure the Pact.
🌱 Learn More: Create Account
Create a Pact
Organizations share records to a funding opportunity via a pact. A pact is like an envelope through which these records are shared. To create a Pact, use your funding opportunity's unique Pact Code. Once a pact is created, you can create records and add programmatic metrics.
🌱 Learn More: Create a Pact
Link Activity Records to the Pact
Activity Records capture the on-the-ground work that will be completed through the proposed funding. Activity records should include:
A unique activity name
Link to a
Activity TypeA footprint of the implementation location
Run Adapted CAST to estimate sediment and nutrient load reductions
🌱 Learn More: Activities
Add Programmatic Metrics
Activity Records linked to a Pact can access and add the associated Funding Opportunity programmatic metrics . These metrics should match those submitted in your Easygrants application.
🌱 Learn More: Metrics - Programmatic
CBSF Submission Checklist
Check that every Activity record in the Pact includes the following:
Final submission steps
FAQs - Creating a proposal
Do I have to use FieldDoc for my Proposal?
2026 Small Watershed Grants: NFWF requires all applicants proposing to implement water quality improvement actions to utilize FieldDoc to calculate estimated load reductions. Those load reductions will be uploaded to the Easygrant application.
2026 Chesapeake WILD: Are you proposing implementation of activities that will improve water quality? If yes, then you should use FieldDoc to calculate the sediment and nutrient load reductions. No other applicants need to use FieldDoc during the application stage.
2026 Innovative Sediment & Nutrient Reduction: Please ask your Program Manager for specific guidance.
Which BMP should I select as my Activity Type?
The FieldDoc team cannot provide guidance on specific BMPs. If you are unsure which BMP to select, we recommend reaching out the the NFWF Field Liaisons, NFWF Program Managers, or reviewing CAST BMP Documentation.
What should the geometry represent?
Each Activity record must have corresponding geospatial component to represent the implementation footprint. You can use a point, line, or polygon to delineate your activity area.
I know my implementation location. If the implementation area is known, please delineate the actual footprint to the best of your ability.
FieldDoc has options for how to delineate geometries to activity records.
If you have a .csv, shapefile, or GeoJSON file, use import. You can import a single geometry or batch import multiple geometries. Each row will create a new activity record.
Within the Activity record, navigate to the Edit Activity modal and select the Geometry tab and use FieldDoc's Map editor tools to delineate your point, line, or polygon within your activity record.
I don't think FieldDoc is providing an accurate model output for TN, TP, or TSS?
It is accurate. FieldDoc is using an Adaptive CAST efficiency table provided to us by the CAST modelers. If you do not agree with the outputs, you are welcome to clear the model inputs and enter in your own custom TN, TP, and TSS outputs within the Programmatic Metrics list!
How do I turn on the models?
Models do not run automatically. Open the Edit Activity modal and switch to the Run Model tab. Follow the prompts to input the required fields. Click run.
I don't know where I'm working yet. Do I need to put in geometry types?
At the application stage, you can use representative locations for your application if you have not yet chosen the implementation locations. Representative locations should look like a verifiable installation site. Do not use a large geometry that covers a large area to indicate where you are working.
Make sure to indicate in the activity name field that this is a representative site. If awarded funding, by the end of the period of performance your FieldDoc records must delineate actual installation sites for restoration work.
I want to use an alternative sediment and nutrient load reduction estimate. How do I associate those with my activity records?
You do not need to run the adapted CAST model for any of your activity records if you have alternative outputs that you would like to use. Once your activity record has been associated with the Pact, find the following programmatic metrics in the available list:
Total Nitrogen (custom)
Total Phosphorus (custom)
Total Suspended Solids (custom)
Enter in the values that you have calculated in the planned_value field. NFWF may ask that you provide the calculations to defend your alternative values. You can upload your calculation documentation to the Documents tab within the Activity record or Pact.
I have a technical service provider creating my proposal. How should we proceed?
FieldDoc is optimized for collaboration. The Pact must be owned by the organization that is submitting the proposal, which means that the organization submitting the proposal must have a FieldDoc account. Once the organization is in FieldDoc, the organization user can invite collaborators from outside of their organization to their workspace or to their Pact. We recommend that you invite your technical service provider to your workspace.
Once in the organization's workspace, any member of the workspace can create, edit, or delete records on behalf of that organization. The pact created within a workspace will be owned by that workspace. Technical service providers should not make pacts for their clients in the TSP's account.
Is my proposal ready to submit?
Here's a checklist to use to make sure you've followed the requirements.
FAQs - Sharing data to NFWF's Easygrant System
How do I create a PDF of my Pact?
FieldDoc does not have a PDF generation function. If you need to capture any views from FieldDoc, we recommend using your browser's print function and printing to pdf. Alternatively, capture the screen with a Print Screen command.
How do I convert geospatial exports from FieldDoc to import into Easygrants?
At the time that these FAQs were written, Easygrants only accepts shapefile imports. Because FieldDoc projects can include geospatial data in point, line, and polygon geometry types, we do not export data in the shapefile package. FieldDoc offers three geospatial files in the export package. The .csv, .GeoJSON, and Geopackage formats which allow for more analytical flexibility of extended use.
NFWF has created guidance on how to convert a FieldDoc GeoJSON files for use in Easygrants. If you require assistance in using the easygrants geospatial tools, please reach out to [email protected] .
FAQs - Tracking Implementation
How do I replace representative records with my actual work?
You can create or link new activity records to your Pact at any time during your period of performance. Make sure to follow the activity configuration steps for any newly created records. You will also want to de-link or delete the representative records once you no longer use them.
TIP: It is better to create a new activity record than to try to update an existing record to reflect a changed location.
Do I need an activity record for every location where we conducted work?
Yes. The activity records in FieldDoc should represent on-the-ground installation locations. If you feel this is unachievable, reach out to your Program Officers for guidance.
Do I need to create records for my Match?
The activity records in your Pact and the programmatic metrics should align with the work that is documented in your Easygrant report.
How do I update the TN, TP, and TSS measurements?
The FieldDoc models that estimate the TN, TP, and TSS assume installation of the activity (BMP). Therefore, there is no way to track implementation progress on these modeled outcomes. Once you run the model, you are finished.
When do I need to use FieldDoc for implementation tracking?
SWG Tracking Implementation – Upon grant award, NFWF will require all projects submitted under this solicitation to utilize FieldDoc for tracking and reporting of on-the-ground conservation and restoration activities resulting from their grant project.
FAQs - System Updates and the impact on my project
FieldDoc 2.0 builds on the legacy FieldDoc platform that was in operation until November 2024. All of the data that was entered into the legacy system is preserved and accessible in FieldDoc 2.0. The following answer some common questions about the migration and platform update.
What is a Pact?
Legacy FieldDoc had limited functionality, automatically sharing all project data immediately with funders. This approach significantly restricted usability for our most important audience—on-the-ground restoration professionals.
In FieldDoc 2.0, we've redesigned the structure so organizations can build comprehensive portfolios of their nature-based activities and selectively share these records with funders. Organizations can now share the same records with multiple funders.
If your organization primarily uses FieldDoc to fulfill reporting requirements and you're familiar with the legacy system, you can continue using FieldDoc 2.0 similarly: create a Pact, then add activity records to that Pact.
The key point to remember is that only records attached to a Pact are visible to the Funding Program manager.
Why do I have a Project and a Pact with the same name?
When The Commons released FieldDoc 2.0, we ensured that all existing data was migrated into the new system and made available within the new data model structure. Because all activity records (formerly called practices) were initially created through Projects, and all Projects were associated with funding programs, we automatically created a Pact for each Project during migration.
If you have activity records that did not receive funding or were never intended for a funding application, you may now delete the associated Pact. The activity records and their project classifications will remain intact.
I created a new practice (now called activity record) in my Project. Why can't I add programmatic metrics?
Projects are no longer automatically shared with funding program managers. Projects no longer automatically include access to programmatic metrics. Therefore, in order to add programmatic metrics to an activity record, make sure to link the activity record to the correct Pact first. Once the activity record is linked, you can access the programmatic metrics and assign the correct ones to your activity.
How do I turn on the models?
In Legacy FieldDoc, models were automatically turned on for every practice. We have removed the automation to give users more autonomy over the data associated with their portfolio. To turn on models, in an activity record:
Open the Edit Activity modal
Assign an
activity type,Select the Models tab, enter the
Unit ValueClick Save.
You can also turn off models by selecting the Clear button or Reset button.
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