CBF-PA Names Clair Ryan PA Watershed Restoration Manager

The Chesapeake Bay Foundation-PA Wednesday named Clair Ryan as its Pennsylvania Watershed Restoration Program Manager.

“We’re excited to have Clair leading our efforts to develop diverse and pioneering approaches for accelerating our efforts to restore Pennsylvania’s rivers and streams,” said CBF’s Pennsylvania Executive Director Harry Campbell.

As Watershed Restoration Program Manager, Ryan will manage CBF’s restoration field staff in Pennsylvania, collaborate with stakeholders, and develop and provide overall management of restoration projects that reduce pollution to Commonwealth waterways and ultimately, the Chesapeake Bay.

Ryan will work closely with field staff to oversee the implementation of streamside buffers and other key restoration practices, seek new and cost-effective approaches, and monitor grants for maximum return.

“Clair’s experience at the New England Interstate Water Pollution Control Commission, where she led restoration efforts for the Lake Champlain Basin Program, will be an immense asset to CBF and our partners,” Campbell added.

Pennsylvania is considerably off-track in its commitments to reduce nitrogen and sediment pollution from agriculture and urban runoff that enters Commonwealth waterways and the Bay. Pennsylvania appears to be on track to meet its phosphorus reduction goal.

The Commonwealth must accelerate progress if it is to have 60 percent of pollution reduction practices in place by 2017 and 100 percent by 2025, as it committed to do in its Clean Water Blueprint.

The Blueprint includes science-based limits on the pollution fouling the Chesapeake Bay and its rivers and streams as established by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Also for the Blueprint, states developed individual plans to achieve those limits and committed to two-year milestones that outline the actions they will take to achieve success.

The EPA’s recent assessment showed that the Commonwealth would have to reduce nitrogen pollution by an additional 14.6 million pounds, or 22 percent, by the end of this year.

The report also found that Pennsylvania will need to add 22,000 acres of forest and grass buffers to meet its commitments by 2017. That compares to only 3,000 acres achieved in 2014.

Prior to joining CBF, Ryan was manager of the Lake Champlain Basin Program for the New England Interstate Water Pollution Control Commission. There she oversaw various grants and contracts, supervised program staff, and represented the Commission on the Basin Program’s Steering Committee.

During her time with the Commission, she also coordinated the development of a set of regional guidelines for the environmentally-responsible use of lawn fertilizer.

Ryan received master’s degrees in Environmental Science and in Public Affairs, both in Water Resource Management, from Indiana University, and a Bachelor of Science degree in Natural Resources from Cornell University.

For more information on activities and programs, visit the Chesapeake Bay Foundation-PA webpage.