Tuesday, October 1, 2019

DCNR Invites Comments On Pennsylvania's 2020-24 Statewide Outdoor Recreation Plan

Every five years, states across the nation are required to produce a new statewide recreation plan to help guide their recreation policies, programs, and investments.
The plan is needed to remain eligible for federal grants from the federal Land and Water Conservation Fund, which are used to:
-- Build parks and historic sites
-- Conserve forests, rivers, lakes, and wildlife habitat
-- Provide access to recreation, hunting, and fishing
Pennsylvania has benefitted from more than $178 million in funding from the Land and Water Conservation Fund for projects across the commonwealth during the last 55 years.
[Note: This is a separate, broader local, regional and statewide initiative from the focused Penn’s Parks For All Plan for Pennsylvania’s state parks DCNR is also seeking comments on.]
While Pennsylvania is still implementing the recommendations and action of its 2014 Outdoor Recreation, DCNR has begun the process of developing its 2020-2024 plan, which is expected to be released in the spring of 2020.
“This plan allows us to keep a pulse on the latest recreation needs of Pennsylvanians and adapt our strategies and investments to best suit what helps to get people outdoors,” said DCNR Secretary Cindy Adams Dunn. “Outdoor recreation delivers huge benefits for all of us – from driving local economies, to helping us lead healthy, active lifestyles. We all need outdoor recreation in our lives, and this plan makes recommendations on how we can make it accessible to everyone.”
A 39-member Technical Advisory Committee of state agencies and organizations who can bring resources to the planning, funding, and implementation of the plan, has helped develop the draft Plan.
A variety of surveys were also conducted to gauge the opinions of the public, specific enthic groups, and recreational professionals in a number of different ways as part of the planning process.
An online survey was conducted during May and June 2019 to capture the thoughts and opinions of everyday Pennsylvanians who did not have an opportunity to answer the other surveys, but had an interest in outdoor recreation. A total of 8,676 people responded.
Click Here for a summary of those results.
Two focus groups of Latino and Black Pennsylvanians were conducted to garner opinions from two groups that are underrepresented in other survey methods used by DCNR.
Click Here for a summary of the focus group sessions.
The Penn State Center for Survey Research also conducted two Lion Polls to understand outdoor recreation patterns and opinions regarding future recreation land conservation, facility development and management.
Click Here for a summary of the Fall 2018 Poll.  Click Here for a summary of the Spring 2019 Poll.
In addition, more than 1,000 recreation providers, including local appointed officials, local elected officials, and park and recreation directors, responded to a survey gauging outdoor recreation services in their local communities and the challenges they face.
Click Here for a summary of those results.
Draft Plan
The results of this work is the Draft 2020-2014 Statewide Outdoor Recommendations and Actions, containing 20 recommendations and more than 100 action items for future outdoor recreation planning.
The recommendations cover a variety of issues, including--
-- Promoting living through outdoor connections
-- Ensuring equity in access to Pennsylvania’s outdoor recreation opportunities
-- Sustainable systems - Protecting and adapting our resources
-- Technology - Using new tools to improvement engagement
-- Funding & Economic Development
3 Webinars - Comments
DCNR will hold three opportunities for public input through online public webinars on October 17 from 10:00 to 11:00 a.m.; October 22 from 6:00 to 7:00 p.m; and October 24 from Noon to 1:00 p.m. 
All are welcome and encouraged to register for one of the webinars and then take a feedback survey. Registration is available through the Outdoor Recreation Plan webpage.
DCNR will be accepting comments on the recommendations  through October 31 through an online survey. A final draft of the plan will be available for public review in January.
For more information, visit DCNR’s Pennsylvania’s Outdoor Recreation Plan webpage.
Visit the Get Outdoors PA and Explore PA Trails website for outdoor recreation opportunities across the state.
  For more information on state parks and forests and recreation in Pennsylvania, visit DCNR’s website, Click Here to sign up for the Resource newsletter, Visit the Good Natured DCNR Blog,  Click Here for upcoming events, Click Here to hook up with DCNR on other social media-- Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Flickr.
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Talk To Your State Senator Student Video Contest -- How To Support Agriculture In PA? Here’s A Video Idea, How About Funding Farm Conservation Measures?

On September 30, the state Senate announced the 2020 Talk To Your State Senator statewide student video competition which this year is focused on the topic-- How To Support Agriculture In Pennsylvania.
The competition is open to middle and high school students.  The deadline for entries is January 31.
The PA Environment Digest has an idea, why don't students suggest Senators support farmers by providing real funding for farm conservation practices to improve the health of our rivers and streams?
Everyone agrees farmers need help and they have been left pretty much alone to shoulder that burden statewide, but especially in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed.
This idea fits right in with this year’s competition which challenges students to produce a video that includes ideas about how to ensure the agriculture industry will have a bright future in Pennsylvania. 
Farm conservation practices not only improve water quality, but often improve the bottom line of farm family balance sheets.
Agriculture is the state’s top industry and a major part of the state and local economies, but the industry faces a variety of challenges based on market conditions and the number of farmers who are expected to retire during the next decade.
The contest, which is sponsored by the Senate of Pennsylvania and Rutter’s, is open to Pennsylvania students in grades 6 through 12, including all public school, private school and home school students. 
Participants are encouraged to submit video entries of no longer than three minutes that promote the future of farming in Pennsylvania.
$10,000 In Prizes!
A total of $10,000 in prizes will be awarded through the PA 529 college savings program administered by the Pennsylvania Department of Treasury. Prizes will be deposited into a college savings account in the winner(s) name. 
Videos will be judged based on creativity, content and effectiveness of message delivery.
Winners will be announced in May 2020. 
More information on the contest is available by visiting the 2019 Talk To Your State Senator  webpage.
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Wyoming Seminary Upper School, EPCAMR Present: STEM And Art: Changing Perspectives Of Waterways Opening Oct. 4, Luzerne County

The Wyoming Seminary Upper School will open an exhibit of student artwork entitled STEM And Art: Changing Perspectives Of Waterways on October 4 at the Kirby Center for the Creative Arts, Wyoming Seminary, 260 North Sprague Avenue in Kingston from 5:30 to 7:30.
Dr. Andrea Nerozzi’s Science-Technology-Engineering-Math (STEM) Program students collaborated with Beth Burkhauser’s The Interdependence Hexagon Project and the Eastern PA Coalition of Abandoned Mine Reclamation to change perspectives of our local waterways that remain polluted from legacy mining practices through artful expression. 
The students were provided a tour by EPCAMR’s Executive Director, Bobby Hughes, of the Solomon Creek Watershed in the Wyoming Valley and educated on the rich history of mining, pivotal decisions that came with dire consequences, and disasters that have led to the challenges our local waterways throughout the Anthracite Region still face today decades later after the majority of the mining industry has declined. 
Many of the students then utilized EPCAMR’s recycled iron oxide pigments in their artwork created on hexagon canvases to give their own perspective of what they had seen during their outdoor learning experiences. 
They painted what they thought should be showcased to help increase the awareness of the state of our local waterways and the importance of restoring, protecting, conserving, and cleaning them up to encourage future support for watershed restoration undertaking by EPCAMR and it’s Coalition partners. 
The Exhibit will showcase the classwork, methods, and processes the students had gone through to create the show and will run until November 4. 
EPCAMR and Wyoming Seminary both recently received one of The International Interdependence Hexagon Project’s 2019 Community Partnership Award Project that will be displayed at the Exhibit as well. 
For more information, visit the event Facebook page.
For information on programs, initiatives and other upcoming events, visit the Wyoming Seminary and Eastern PA Coalition of Abandoned Mine Reclamation websites.
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Westmoreland Conservation District Celebrates 70 Years

By Westmoreland Conservation District

 A lot of good things have happened in Westmoreland County in the 70 years since the Westmoreland Conservation District was founded.
The quality of water in hundreds of miles of streams has gotten better.  Thousands of acres of Westmoreland County soil are stabilized. And many forest- and woodlands are healthy and productive.
The Conservation District has had a major hand in making these things happen, working with like minded organizations, companies, and area citizens to protect the integrity of the natural resources we all share.
The organization also has helped to heal many environmental wounds from the past – such as the 100 or so barren piles of coal waste that scarred our county’s landscape as recently as the 1980s.  
Today, most of those waste piles have been removed and the land reclaimed. 
Likewise, many streams that were once orange now run much cleaner, thanks to passive wetland treatment projects the District and its partners installed at Saint Vincent College, Lowber, Brinkerton, and other locations throughout the county.
 “Our goal is to help people use resources wisely,” explained Greg Phillips, who as district manager and CEO, has been guiding the Westmoreland Conservation District for a little more than half of the organization’s existence. 
District staff members spend much of their time working one-on-one with engineers, earthmovers, farmers, loggers, and others whose profession brings them in contact with the natural resources.  
“We help them get their work done in a way that doesn’t adversely impact the soil, water, and other natural resources,” Phillips said.  “As we’ve learned from past coal-mining and agricultural practices, it’s far better to prevent problems like water pollution before they happen, rather than to have to clean them up afterward.”
In the late 1940s when the District was founded, farming was the major occupation in the county, and farmers were looking for ways to stop their valuable soil from eroding into nearby streams.  
One of the earliest conservation practices the District promoted was plowing in line with the contour of the land-- a novel idea at the time that is now a well-accepted farming practice.   
Today, the District’s agricultural technician continues to help farmers keep up with the latest proven conservation practices, such as preparing fields for planting without any tilling at all, which saves time and fuel, and creates even less erosion than contour farming.
Conservation practices in every area of conservation have been continuously improving over the decades, and Phillips and his staff often create real-world demonstrations of the best ones as a way to showcase their effectiveness and encourage their use in the field.
Over the past few years, the District has demonstrated a number of innovative ways to manage stormwater, installing porous pavers, rain gardens, swales, and even a green roof-- Westmoreland County’s first--  on the GreenForge building next door to their headquarters. 
The Westmoreland Conservation District was the first district in Pennsylvania to hire a hydraulic engineer and implement a stormwater-management program (in 1988).  
“We began by simply educating people on the idea of actively doing something to manage rain and melting ice and snow,” Phillips said, “and, over the years, best practices in this field have evolved from simply retaining stormwater – the ponds with chain link fences around them that you probably have seen near development sites -- to encouraging infiltration.”
Infiltrating stormwater has a number of community benefits.  It recharges the groundwater that many Westmoreland County households with wells rely on.  And it lessens the burden on local storm sewer systems, many of which are older. It often also removes the need to install fencing, and instead creates gardens and other pleasing landscape features.
In addition to agriculture and stormwater management, other District programs today include forest stewardship; erosion control; watershed restoration; floodplain management; water-quality practices on low-volume roads; West Nile virus; and water-quality monitoring.
The organization makes its home in a green building along the Donohoe Road in Hempfield Township-- an 1880s barn that was once part of a working farm in the county.  
The District moved the barn from Penn Township to the current location and repurposed it, adding green materials and practices, including geothermal heat and cooling, reclaimed wood, iron oxide, structural insulated panels, zoned radiant floor heat, low-E glass, and water-saving toilets.
Phillips invites the public to stop in during business hours (M-F, 8:00 a.m.–Noon and 1:00 p.m.- 4:00 p.m.) to take a look at the barn and the surrounding conservation features, which include a self-guided stormwater trail and an arboretum.  
Inside the barn, a display features a timeline of conservation in Westmoreland County from 1949 through 2019, and the names of many of the people who have made the achievements a reality.  There is no charge to visit.  
The District is located at 218 Donohoe Road, just one mile from Westmoreland Mall.
For more information on services available, upcoming educational opportunities and how you can get involved, visit the Westmoreland Conservation District website or Follow them on Facebook.
(Photo: 2012 Annual Report, Westmoreland Conservation District.)
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Tuesday PA Environment & Energy NewsClips 10.1.19

Tuesday PA Capitol NewsClips 10.1.19 -- Click Here
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Click Here for latest Environmental NewsClips & News (Daily Subscriber Email 2:00)
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