Harrisburg, Pennsylvania

CBF Announces New Pennsylvania Executive Director

(HARRISBURG, PA)—The Chesapeake Bay Foundation (CBF) is pleased to announce Harry Campbell as the new Executive Director for the Pennsylvania office. Having spent the past nine years as CBF's Pennsylvania scientist, Campbell is a respected resource on technical, policy, and science issues and will now direct all of CBF's policy, advocacy, and restoration efforts in Pennsylvania.

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Fishing for smallmouth bass in the Susquehanna River. Photo by Tom Pelton/CBF Staff

CBF to PA DEP: "Add the Susquehanna River to Impaired Waters List"

One of the longest rivers in America, the Susquehanna River provides over half of the freshwater to the Chesapeake Bay, drinking water to millions of people, countless recreational opportunities, and scenic value.  For these and many other reasons, the river is a valued natural and economic resource to this region.  But the Mighty Susquehanna and her keystone fishery, the smallmouth bass, need help. Recent declines in the smallmouth bass health and population, along with water quality data suggesting poor conditions at key locations and at key times of the year, indicate the river fails to meet some of the basic requirements of the Clean Water Act.

Over a year ago Pennsylvania's top fisheries scientists at the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission (Commission) sounded the alarm for urgent state action to address widespread disease and death among smallmouth bass in the lower Susquehanna River, the largest tributary to the Chesapeake Bay.

CBF joined the Commission—along with the Pennsylvania Council of Trout Unlimited, American Rivers, and Citizens for Pennsylvania's Future—in a petition to urge the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) to prioritize the health of the Susquehanna and commit to a sound plan to help restore it.

The petition urged DEP to list a 98-mile stretch of the river as an impaired water body on the federal 303(d) Impaired Waters list. Data included in the petition supports the request and warrants including the stretch from Sunbury to the Maryland state line.

"In the autumn of 2011… outbreaks were so severe that approximately 40 percent of the adult smallmouth bass surveyed had extensive lesions and open sores," stated a recent letter from the Commission to DEP.  Similar outbreaks of disease in adults and death of young smallmouth bass in the lower Susquehanna River have occurred in 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2010, as well as 2011. These specific conditions have been found nowhere else in Pennsylvania but in this 98-mile stretch of the Susquehanna River.

The group contends that the river fails to meet some of the basic requirements of the Clean Water Act.

DEP disagreed denied the petition. In January 2013, DEP excluded the river from its 2012 Impaired Waters List. 

The Importance of Being Declared "Impaired"

Of Pennsylvania's 86,000 miles of rivers, streams, and small creeks, over 18,000 miles are currently on the impaired list. Being included on the list ensures that each of these waterways will eventually have a recovery plan. By listing this section of the river, we ensure that a recovery plan will be developed for the lower Susquehanna. 

Based on the studies of the Commission, the U.S. Geological Survey, and others, and concerns about a collapse of this economically important fishery ($2.7 million in a 2007 study), the Commission took what steps it could to protect the smallmouth bass. It imposed catch-and-immediate release requirements and closed seasons for smallmouth bass during the spring spawning period.

These actions may help in the short-term, but to return long-term health and sustainability to the fishery, the state must commit to finding the answers and developing a plan to fix the problems.

Designating the river as an impaired waterway helps assure this occurs.

CBF will continue to urge reconsideration of our petition by DEP and EPA, who ultimately must approve DEP's list.

For the millions who depend on the river, the millions of dollars made from her bounty, and for generations to come—there is no better time to act on behalf of the Susquehanna River and clean water.

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The Capital building, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Photo credit Clipart.com

2013 Pennsylvania General Assembly Update

Unlike Maryland and Virginia, which have between two- and three-month annual legislative sessions, Pennsylvania's General Assembly holds two-year sessions. During the 2013-2014 session an emphasis of our policy work will be to ensure conservation funding, including funding for Growing Greener, remains intact. Additionally, we will advocate for the creation of local stormwater authorities and additional funding for stormwater management. And, we will advocate for a fertilizer bill, such as those passed in 2011 in Maryland and Virginia.

All three of these priorities are critical to Pennsylvania's Clean Water Blueprint for the Chesapeake Bay.

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Through the Buffer Bonus program, CBF and partners work with farmers to install conservation projects, like this cattle crossing. Photo by Matt Kofroth.

Buffer Bonus Program Helps Farmers Improve Local Water Quality—and Their Bottom Line

CBF and partners work with farmers and landowners throughout the region to implement conservation projects that will improve water quality and enhance farm profitability. Much of the work focuses on farm best management practices (BMPs). Currently available in a limited number of Pennsylvania counties, CBF's Buffer Bonus program encourages farmers to couple the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program (CREP) forest buffers with these kinds of on-farm improvements. For each acre of forest buffer planted, CBF offers participating farmers a "best management practice voucher" to fund conservation work.

Improvements that qualify under the Buffer Bonus program include rotational grazing practices, streambank fencing, alternative watering systems, and laneways. Other options include the installation of waste transfer lines for milk-house waste and silage leachate, stabilization of access roads, and the installation of roof gutters, to name a few.

Another goal of this program is to provide, at no cost to the farmer, a new or updated Conservation and Nutrient Management Plan. By combining this plan with an engineer's evaluation of the farm (also provided) the plans are then considered a Comprehensive Nutrient Management Plan or a CNMP. Having a CNMP gives farmers the opportunity to apply for federal funding to assist with larger on-farm improvements such as manure storage facilities and concrete barnyards.

Buffer Bonus Results

In Bradford County, 36 farmers have already participated in the program. In just two years, through the Buffer Bonus program, $1.6 million has been invested in best management practices that have resulted in nearly 200 completed projects. These projects also brought those farms into full compliance with state required conservation and manure management plans.

In Lancaster County, Amish and Mennonite farmers are also reducing pollution by installing conservation projects and planting streamside forested buffers. In just two years another $1.6 million investment has resulted in nearly 300 completed projects, bringing 41 farms into full compliance with state required conservation and manure management plans.

"These conservation improvements are a win-win for both the farmer and local water quality," said Jennifer Johns, CBF Buffer Specialist in Bradford County. "While each project ultimately produces different results, we find that creating healthier living conditions for the livestock through the installation of conservation practices improves herd health and the farmer's bottom line."

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PA grassroots staff members Andrew Bliss and Kate Austin. Photo by CBF Staff.

Meet Pennsylvania's Newest Staff Members

The Pennsylvania office is pleased to introduce two additions to our grassroots team, Andrew Bliss and Kate Austin. Over the past year CBF has worked with communities, farmers, and political leaders to broaden awareness of the Chesapeake Bay clean water blueprint, bring it down to the local level, and to share the many clean water success stories with state and federal leaders.  Kate and Andrew will be supporting our efforts protect and restore local rivers, streams, and the Bay and to defend and implement the Bay blueprint in Pennsylvania. 

Kate Austin joins us as our new Grassroots Field Specialist. Kate, a Master Gardener, is a native of Pennsylvania and comes to us with degrees in political science and landscape architecture. She hails most recently from the Athens Land Trust in Georgia where she coordinated a community garden network—managing volunteers, designing and building gardens, canvassing neighborhoods, cultivating diverse partnerships, leading and developing trainings and workshops, and designing multi-lingual educational materials.

Among other projects, Kate will be working in Lancaster, Lebanon, and Dauphin Counties to educate and motivate citizens to help support clean water efforts; encourage residents to attend and speak in support of clean water efforts during community meetings; and organize citizens to communicate clean water messages to state officials.

Andrew Bliss joins us as our new Grassroots Coordinator.  A former CBF intern, Andrew recently completed his masters in Natural Resource Studies at the University of Arizona. Also a native of Pennsylvania, Andrew comes to CBF with an undergraduate degree in Geography and Environmental Planning; and experience with the Greenpeace Organizing Team in Washington, D.C., where he received training in environmental activism and non-profit operations.

Andrew will be focusing on strengthening grassroots organizing around the blueprint to save local rivers and streams, and the Bay.  

We're delighted that Kate and Andrew have joined the CBF team. But their work alone won't be enough to defend clean water—we need you too. Please consider writing your legislator, writing a letter or opinion piece to your local newspaper, and make your voice heard.  If you would like to learn more about ways you can participate in the Pennsylvania advocacy efforts, contact Kate or Andrew at 717-234-5550.

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Nearly 100 volunteers planted a streamside buffer at Oregon Dairy.  Photo by CBF Staff.

Volunteers Create Pollution-Reduction Demonstration Project at Oregon Dairy

The water quality of a local Lancaster stream is looking up these days, thanks to a group of nearly 100 CBF members, volunteers, staff, and partners. The Oregon Dairy, owned and operated by the Hurst Family in Lancaster, may be best known for their award-winning bakery and their annual "Family Farm Days," but on May 5, 2012, nearly 100 volunteers got to know the dairy a whole lot better by investing their time and energy into making improvements that will not only help the farm, but everyone downstream.

CBF members and volunteers from around the region planted 1,800 native perennial plants, and 50 native shrubs and trees along Kurtz Run, a small stream that runs through the Hurst Farm, and a tributary to the Conestoga River.

Both the trees and the perennial plants and shrubs will assist in curbing stream bank erosion, help filter pollutants before they reach the stream, and provide habitat. The perennials will also provide much-needed food sources for pollinators.

"The riparian area is near the entrance to the dairy, so we chose trees and plants that would offer visual appeal throughout the year," said Andrew P. Korzon, Environmental Designer for LandStudies, Inc. "We hope that visitors to the dairy will see the beauty of these trees and want to learn more about forested riparian areas. In addition to offering a beautiful setting for the Hurst's, this site will also serve as a blueprint for implementing similar projects at other locations."

The planting is part of a demonstration project at Oregon Dairy that illustrates the many options available to landowners interested in planting a stream side buffer.  "We'd like to help the public better understand that there are a host of benefits to planting native species, and that they are quite beautiful," said George Hurst, a partner in Oregon Dairy. "The riparian area will not only improve the stream but it will also serve as a tool for public education, and we're excited about that."

Volunteers are essential to completing this type of hands-on project, but they also play a tremendous role in CBF's advocacy efforts. After accomplishing their hands-on work, volunteers engaged in a legislative discussion with updates on the Chesapeake Bay Clean Water Blueprint and also on the federal Farm Bill.

 CBF member Shelly Colehouse-Mayhew of Hanover helped with the planting. "I plan to visit this summer to see the progress of the numerous trees, perennials, and grasses that were planted," she said. "I hope they fill in the area quickly, so they can begin to provide the water quality benefits needed for this stream and the Chesapeake Bay."

Partners on the project include Oregon Dairy and the Hurst family, LandStudies, Inc., Lancaster County Conservation District, Octoraro Native Plant Nursery, North Creek Nursery, and Ernst Conservation Seeds.

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Students display their finds during a field experience. Photo by CBF Staff

There are Many Lessons to be Learned by Picking Up a Bottle

Students with CBF's Susquehanna Watershed Education Program have been cleaning up streams one bottle at a time. For over 22 years the program has taught students things that anyone can do to help the environment. Students who have paddled with the program have always practiced "leave no trace" during the trips and have been encouraged to pick up trash as the group floats down various streams.

The islands on the Susquehanna River and the banks of streams always have some debris. When tropical storm Lee devastated many communities throughout the watershed even more debris was seen along the waterways. Right around the same time, CBF's Pennsylvania office had a large comingled recycling dumpster added next to its "landfill" dumpster. This has made it easy for the educators and students to bring and empty recycling and landfill buckets on their trips.

The students are encouraged daily to fill recycling tubs. Often the students go "progging" or searching for objects of interest on the islands, sharing fictional stories about how the found objects made it to their resting place. Though the amount collected is small compared with the total amount of debris, it is the process that teaches. The Susquehanna Watershed Education Program (SWEP) emphasizes the many positive changes to the environment that have taken place in the last 50 years. The availability of recycling in just the last 20 years is a change that students have seen grown immensely in their own lifetimes. It is one more example of how,if we all do a little, we can achieve a lot.

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