Growing Greener III Renewal, Refocusing Strategy To Be Unveiled At May 1 Summit

The Foundation for Pennsylvania Watersheds is pleased to announce the unveiling of the Growing Greener III Strategy. Andrew Heath, renew Growing Greener Coalition Leader, will provide the reauthorization strategy to attendees of “What’s Next for Water Quality in Pennsylvania?”
The conference, to held on May 1, is a direct beneficiary of Growing Greener funds. Participants will not only learn about the reauthorization strategy; they will also learn about the Foundation’s available technical and capacity-building services.
Growing Greener is important to the Commonwealth, as its funding has impacted every county with the state. Its accomplishments were many, but despite the investment there is still work to be done.
Pennsylvania still struggles to meet Bay nutrient reduction mandates, reduce sedimentation and abandoned mine drainage in its waterways, and is still addressing a legacy of uncapped petroleum wells and scarred mine lands.
The watershed movement created by the first Growing Greener, is poised to assist Pennsylvania in meeting these challenges.
Accepting the environmental challenges means we also accept the interwoven economic challenges. There is no doubt that a healthier environment leads to a healthier economy. This is evident in countless economic studies.
Most recently and notably, "An Economic Benefit Analysis for Abandoned Mine Drainage Remediation in the West Branch Susquehanna River Watershed, Pennsylvania," outlined how abandoned mine reclamation in the West Branch could result in $204M in economic activity.
Unemployment statistics would drop as 5,892 jobs (both direct and indirect jobs) would result from West Branch restoration. Fifty-two percent of those jobs would be Green Collar jobs. Additionally, a cleaner environment means higher real-estate values—resulting in more tax revenues (as indicated in the study).
Our Commonwealth has more than 83,000 stream miles, and they have an associated economic benefit, based solely on fishing, of $3.7 billion annually, and an economic impact of $4.7 billion (Center for Rural Pennsylvania, 1998). Add in the overall economic benefit of hunting at $4.8 billion, and one quickly sees that our environment is closely tied to our economy (Center for Rural Pennsylvania, 1998).
Come out to hear Andrew’s strategy on how we build upon Growing Greener’s Legacy:
-- 33,700 family farm acres protected;
-- 42,300 threatened open space acres protected;
-- Enhanced 234 communities with park projects; and
-- Restored more than 1,600 abandoned mine-impacted acres.
Discuss strategy enhancement for work still to be done:
-- Restore 16,000 miles of Commonwealth water unfit for swimming;
-- Restore 189,000 mine scarred acres;
-- Restore 5,300 mine-impacted stream miles;
-- Protect an additional 2,000 family farms from sprawl; and
-- Enhance livability of the state’s aging communities.
Join us on May 1 at the Ramada Inn Conference Center, and learn how you and your organization can help Pennsylvania grow greener. You participation will shape our environmental vision for tomorrow, and impact future generations.
Send an email to Andrew Health at: aheath@RenewGrowingGreener.org for more information on renewing, refocusing the Growing Greener Program.