The Environmental Stewardship Fund provides funding for watershed specialists in every county in Pennsylvania. The two-year grants enable conservation districts to plan watershed restoration and stream improvement projects with the knowledge that funding for these key positions is secure. “Local efforts are absolutely essential to the Growing Greener partnership,” said Ed Rendell, former governor of […]
Kiski–Conemaugh Stream Team
The Kiski–Conemaugh Stream Team was formed in 1998 to address concerns raised in the Kiski–Conemaugh River Basin Conservation Plan. The plan identified the need for a water-monitoring program to collect baseline data on over 100 abandoned mine discharges in the Kiski–Conemaugh River Basin, which encompasses portions of Armstrong, Cambria, Indiana, Somerset, and Westmoreland Counties. The […]
Protecting Rock Point
In 2007, the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR) awarded the Wild Waterways Conservancy (WWC) a Growing Greener II grant to use towards acquiring 86 acres of land at the confluence of Connoquenessing Creek and the Beaver River in Lawrence and Beaver counties. Other partners— including Lawrence County, Wild Waterways Conservancy, and the […]
Improving Shades Beach Park Playground
In 1983 when Harborcreek Township took control of Shades Beach Park, formerly owned by Erie County, the park was in bad shape. There was no easy access to Lake Erie. There were few pavilions. The roads were gravel. Since then, Environmental Stewardship Fund grants, combined with cooperative efforts between the township, parks, community planners, the […]
Watershed Groups in Rural Pennsylvania Have Gone Mainstream
According to a research team at Penn State University, local watershed organizations are influencing community dynamics—and the nature of environmental stewardship—in rural Pennsylvania. The Center for Rural Pennsylvania commissioned the study of rural watershed organizations, which drew on 27 in-depth interviews and questionnaires completed by 172 watershed organizations across the state. “We got into this […]
