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Front Page: Your Weekly News & Updates
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| News from Columbia, Mifflin, and Tioga Counties, PPL and Lackawanna County, and NRCS. |
Columbia County Conservation District Holds Water Education Day
On Wednesday, September 13th, 2017, the Columbia County Conservation District held its 3rd annual Water Education Day "Good Water = Good Life", for 491 eighth grade students from Columbia County schools and homeschooling groups.
Students rotated through stations on groundwater, streams, water quality, fish ecology, and art to better understand our water resources, how to keep them clean and the connection between land and water. There was also an original music and drama performance by a group of local high school students that reinforces all the station topics.
The Columbia County Conservation District received the 2017 Governor's Award for Environmental Excellence for this annual event. Presenters and volunteers came from the PA DEP, Bloomsburg University, PA American Water, Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission, Children's Museum, PA Rural Water and local watershed groups.
Photo caption: Students at the Fish Ecology station learn what macroinvertebrates can tell us about water quality from Becky Dunlap, PA Department of Environmental Protection, one of the 64 presenters and volunteers for the event. Photo used with permission from Nicole Karr Photography.
Click here to read more and here to view photos from the event.
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Free Trees Available through PPL Electric Utilities' Community Roots Program
Submitted by Alana Roberts, Regional Affairs Director, PPL Electric Utilities
PPL Electric Utilities' investments in the communities it serves have always gone beyond poles and wires. Now, we're putting down roots. The company recently unveiled Community Roots, a new program that will provide free trees to deliver environmental benefits, including cleaner air and habitat and food for birds and animals.
The goal of the program is to give trees to county and municipal parks, environmentally focused groups and schools.
Trees will be available in three types: bare-root seedlings, container seedlings and gallon container seedlings. They will be given away on a first-come, first-served basis. Interested groups or schools can order trees online at www.pplcommunityroots.com. The ordering site also can be reached through PPL Electric Utilities' environment web page, www.pplelectric.com/environment.
Trees can be ordered now for planting in spring and fall next year. Trees for spring 2018 need to be ordered by October 25, 2017.
Photo caption: On September 13, PPL partnered with the Lackawanna County Conservation District to launch the new Community Roots Program by conducting a tree planting in the City of Scranton. Pictured left to right are: Lackawanna County Conservation District's Eric Johnson, Jerry Stiles, Cheryl Nolan, Lois Sherman, Kim Nagle, and PPL Electric Utilities Regional Affairs Director Alana Roberts. Photo provided by PPL.
Click here to read the entire article.
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Mifflin and Tioga County Conservation Districts Receive Stewardship Funds
The Chesapeake Bay Stewardship Fund (CBSF) awarded over $12.6 million in grant funding to support 44 watershed restoration projects in the Chesapeake Bay region. The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation's CBSF is dedicated to protecting and restoring the Bay by helping local communities clean up and restore their polluted rivers and streams.
Among the recipients are:
- Riparian Buffer Models in the Juniata River Basin (PA) Grantee: Mifflin County Conservation District CBSF Award: $173,971 Matching Funds: $59,259 Total Project: $233,230.The Mifflin County Conservation District will install riparian specific Best Management Practices through innovative methods and a diversity of programs to improve water quality in the Juniata River Basin. The project will reach new audiences to implement 2.5 miles of riparian restoration through livestock exclusions fencing, instream habitat restoration and riparian forest buffer installations.
- Bringing Back Eastern Brook Trout to Canoe Camp Creek Watershed through Bank Stabilizations (PA) Grantee: Tioga County Conservation District CBSF Award: $84,330 Matching Funds: $28,110 Total Project: $112,440.The Tioga County Conservation District will implement bank stabilization projects for a minimum of 2,000 feet and install a minimum of 2 acres of riparian buffer to reduce sediment and nutrient transport downstream of the Canoe Camp Creek, leading to the recolonization of the eastern brook trout.
Click here to read about all the grants that were awarded.
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USDA Announces More than $1.5 Million in Conservation Innovation for Chesapeake Bay Watershed in Pennsylvania
The USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service in Pennsylvania announces more than $1.5 million for six demonstration projects designed to decrease agricultural nutrients in the Chesapeake Bay watershed. Funding comes through the NRCS's Conservation Innovation Grants (CIG) program. Click here for the list of projects and additional details.
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Conservation Districts in the News
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