|
|
|
These days we all have to conserve, and I’m not just talking environmentally. Conservation has become not only a good thing to do but it has become a necessity. Fuel prices are high and we think more about the routes we take to keep the miles to a minimum. Groceries are costing more due to high fuel prices and poor weather, so we only buy what we need and try not to spend too much on the goodies. The place needs a little work here and there but we try to conserve on outside labor by making the repairs on our own. We are all learning to be a bit more Conservation minded the more these tumultuous days move along. It’s amazing how the human mind can learn to adapt to adverse conditions in a short period of time. As budgets become tighter we all find ways to conserve. Reusing plastic bags, taking our sack to the grocery store, turning off lights we never would have thought to a year ago. We’re unplugging electronics, using the woodstove more often and turning down the thermostat. Up on the hill where I live I have noticed a difference. The weekends are quieter, less car traffic, less air traffic, even the airlines are conserving. This could all be a blessing in disguise, one never knows. Just think, maybe a few more gardens will get planted this year. Ah, a garden, maybe a rain barrel would be a useful item this year. Our time and energy wasted in the past will be spent quietly weeding those free veggies. These are challenging and sometimes worrisome days, but we will come out better for it. We might even find that conservation can be better than we thought! Sincerely, Ed Thayer |
|
President’s Message |
|
Newsletter Spring 2009 |
|
Celebrating 42 years of preserving and protecting the natural and historic resources of the Octoraro |
|
You are cordially invited to attend the Octoraro Watershed Association’s Annual Dinner Meeting Thursday April 23rd, 2009 Location: Black Rock Retreat, Route 472, Quarryville, Pa Activities begin at 5:30 pm. Dinner is at 6:30 pm Guest Speaker: Carl B. Martin, Director of Stewardship & Education at the Lancaster County Conservancy will be talking to us about Backyard Stewardship
|
|
Since I became a board member more than twenty years ago, there has never been a time when grant writing has been more challenging. Because of our economy, both government and foundation environmental programs are virtually non existent. Few of our proposals |
|
receive funding, and the reason given is that the competition is greater than ever, and the money available is less than they have ever had. So, we have the challenge of finding new and innovative ways to assure that we are still able to function. It is not just money that keeps us afloat. Volunteer time, as well as donated materials and services are just as important as writing a check. Any ideas that you have, whether suggestions for fundraising events, potential contacts or referrals would be greatly appreciated. You are always welcome to call or visit the office. I am there most mornings from 7 am—9 am and would love to hear from you.
|
|
1. Visited more than 150 Amish farms in the Watershed with Henry Beiler and David Fisher 2. Preserved 15 Amish farms in the Watershed, 5 through private funding and 10 through County Programs 3. Assisted Lancaster & Chester Soil Conservation Districts in conservation plan writing and implementation of best management practices on 10 farms in the watershed. 4. Received private donations from the Herr Family and from Amish farmers whose farms we helped to preserve. 5. Prepared and distributed more than 400 handouts to Amish people who do not work on the farm 6. Submitted two additional matching grants to continue our outreach |
|
Our Mission: To restore and protect the natural resources of the scenic Octoraro Creek and to preserve and protect its farmlands, forest, and rural heritage through education, outreach, restoration, and community stewardship. |
|
With spring again upon us, let’s take time with our family and friends to get out and enjoy nature at its finest. One of the ways this can become a family event and help protect the Octoraro Watershed, is to create a backyard wildlife habitat. In addition, you may wish to consider becoming a member of the National Wildlife Federation’s (NWF) Backyard Wildlife Habitat program. The best part, during these challenging economic times, is that it is FREE! There are plenty of resources available to help you along the way in developing your wildlife habitat in your front yard, backyard, deck, patio or that small corner of your property you just don’t know what to do with. Is your area “wildlife-friendly”? Wherever your family’s interests lie, from birds to butterflies, frogs to fish, creating a wildlife habitat is something in which all family member can |
|
participate. In addition, once established, you can certify your habitat through the NWF’s Backyard Habitat Program. NWF lists five (5) benefits for establishing a wildlife habitat: · First, and most importantly, it’s fun to watch birds, butterflies, frogs and other interesting wildlife from your own window, deck or patio. · It provides a refuge for wildlife. · You give back to nature. · It is environmentally friendly. · It may inspire your neighbors to do the same. Once your habitat is certified, you can post a yard sign to show others your family’s commitment to conserving wildlife and protecting the environment in the Octoraro Watershed. The NWF website, www.nwf.org, has plenty of useful information to help guide your family by providing step-by-step instructions for creating various habitats. In addition, it gives you the opportunity to network with others through wildlife stories and photos. As we strive to protect the beauty, serenity and health of the Octoraro Watershed, not only today but in the years to come, this is one small project your family can do to help protect and conserve the natural and historical resources of your watershed.
So, what are you doing this spring? |
|
Funding: · Our members · Our Amish supporters · Alcoa · The Brandywine Conservancy · The Claneil Foundation · Herr Foods Inc. · The Steinman Foundation · The William Penn Foundation |
|
Materials & Services: · Our volunteers · The Chester Water Authority, for providing our office space, and for printing this Newsletter · The Octoraro Nursery, for donating native trees for riparian buffer plantings |
|
Speakers Program Rupert Rossetti recently gave a talk to the Atglen Library gardeners on Watersheds and what you can do in our own backyard to conserve water and help the Bay. We are happy to come and speak to your community group. |
|
|
|
Best Management Practices (BMPs) include environmentally-friendly practices like riparian buffers along streams, no-till agriculture, reduced tillage agriculture, cover crops, rain gardens, and stream bank fencing to name a few. These practices are important because they reduce the loss of soil and nutrients from our land. Which means those sediments and nutrients then don’t get into our streams and get carried downstream, eventually to the Chesapeake Bay. Improvements to our streams, and ultimately to the Chesapeake Bay, hinge on the implementation of BMPs. Another key element is to reduce the input of nutrients to our streams and the Bay from wastewater treatment plants. The implementation of BMPs on our lands is generally voluntary, while the wastewater treatment plants must meet regulations regarding what they discharge into streams. The reduction of sediment and nutrients entering our streams through implementing BMPs, however, is not free. In the case of wastewater treatment facilities, the upgrades they need to meet regulations cost millions of dollars. And there is now a way by which the costs faced by the wastewater treatment facilities can be reduced while the landowners implementing BMPs are rewarded financially – Nutrient Trading. Nutrient trading is a state-approved process where BMPs that are implemented by a landowner may be eligible to earn nutrient credits. Those credits, once certified by the PA-DEP or by MD MDA and MDE, can be sold to wastewater treatment facilities that need credits to help meet their regulatory caps for what they discharge to streams. Such a recent nutrient trade was made in Mount Joy, Lancaster County, PA where a farmer implemented no-till agriculture on 930 acres, and sold 11,718 nitrogen credits to the Mount Joy Borough for $44,645 per year for three years. This is just one example of how nutrient credits can pay off for landowners, while they implement BMPs to benefit the environment. Any size acreage can potentially earn credits from BMPs. And it’s not just agricultural BMPs that can earn credits. Riparian buffers, stormwater BMPs and stream restoration BMPs can also earn credits.
As with most programs, certain criteria must be met, and provisions do vary from State to State.
For more information, contact John@Landstudies.com |
|
Agricultural producers located within the Chesapeake Bay watershed can now apply for special assistance under the new Chesapeake Bay Watershed Initiative (CBWI),. This new initiative offers technical and financial assistance to producers to install agricultural BMP’s to restore, preserve, and protect the Chesapeake Bay. The CBWI offers assistance to eligible participants to implement a system of core conservation practices on eligible agricultural land. These practices include crop residue management (especially no-till and mulch till systems), crop nutrient management, manure management, waterways, terraces, diversions, cover crops, buffers, riparian forest buffers, and streamside fencing to keep livestock out of the streams and protect fish and wildlife habitat. In addition, a number of other conservation practices are available to address specific resource problems. Applications for the new CBWI will be accepted continuously throughout the year to be evaluated, ranked, and prioritized based on funding availability and their potential to control erosion and reduce sediment and nutrient levels in local waters and the Chesapeake Bay. The first step for producers should be to contact their local NRCS or Conservation District office (Lancaster County 1-717-299-1563, Chester County 1-610-696-0398 and Cecil County 1-410-398-4411 ext. 3) to request assistance |
