Friday, March 5, 2021

Keystone 10 Million Trees Partnership Looking Forward To A Year Of Growth


This article appeared first in the latest
Penn’s Woods newsletter from the Chesapeake Bay Foundation-PA-- 

The Keystone 10 Million Trees Partnership sees 2021 as a year of exponential growth. 

“We have locked in contracts to significantly expand tree production for 2021 and 2022,” Partnership Manager Brenda Sieglitz said.

“We are working diligently with our 167 partners to find homes for the 210,000 trees in 2021 (over 144,500 in the Spring) and 500,000 trees in 2022.

“We are engaging agriculture landowners in south-central Pennsylvania who are able to convert land from crops and agriculture to tree plantings along riparian areas,” Sieglitz added. “We need our partners’ help in finding more land for trees for this year and beyond.”

Though partners are glad to bid farewell to 2020, conservation calluses had silver linings during a COVID-19 year.

“One of our biggest accomplishments of 2020 was to put together a joint professional contract for 50 acres of riparian buffer plantings that would have otherwise been delayed until volunteer help could be utilized,” Sarah Xenophon of the Penn State Agriculture and Environment Center wrote in the new partnership blog in January.

“This not only alleviated our volunteer restrictions, but also provided us an opportunity to try a new logistical management plan and support conservation contractors who truly needed the work in the fall.

“It’s obvious that these special circumstances pushed us to think above our regular timelines and outside of our regular avenues of operation, truly fast-tracking innovation,” Xenophon added.

The Lebanon Valley Conservancy (TLVC) knows that partnership and preservation can change the landscape.

“The partnership has evolved beyond planting trees and has rooted relationships in our community,” TLVC Executive Director Laurie Crawford wrote in the partnership blog for February.

“Partnering with our easement owners helps to protect our investment and enhance the conservation values of the properties,” Crawford continued.

“As we moved to years two and three with the partnership, I noticed new landowners, with hundreds of acres of valuable lands with forest, streams, and open space, were interested in planting trees,” Crawford said.

“Following up with them after the plantings gave us an opportunity to talk about easements and protection of the valuable ecological treasures on their properties.”

To learn more, visit the Keystone 10 Million Trees Partnership website.

Other Articles

Other features in the Penn’s Waters included--

-- PA’s Proposed Budget Does Little For Chronic Underfunding For Clean Water

-- Revived Farm Conservation Cost-Share Bill Could Highlight PA’s Legislature’s Session

-- Students Continue To Learn Outside During The Pandemic Thru CBF’s OWL Online

-- CBF’s State Of The Bay Report Score Dropped, There’s Still Hope

-- Growing Greener Grants Are A Win-Win For Local Economies, Environment

-- From The Desk Of Shallon Gority, PA CBF Director

Click Here to read the entire Penn’s WatersClick Here to sign up for your own copy.

For more on Chesapeake Bay-related issues in Pennsylvania, visit the Chesapeake Bay Foundation-PA webpage.  Click Here to sign up for Pennsylvania updates (bottom of left column).  Click Here to support their work.

Also visit the Keystone 10 Million Trees Partnership to learn how you can help clean water grow on trees.

CBF has over 275,000 members in Bay Watershed.

[PA Chesapeake Bay Plan

[For more information on Pennsylvania’s plan, visit DEP’s Chesapeake Bay Office webpage.

[How Clean Is Your Stream?

[DEP’s Interactive Report Viewer allows you to zoom in on your own stream or watershed to find out how clean your stream is or if it has impaired water quality using the latest information in the draft 2020 Water Quality Report.]

NewsClips:

AltoonaM Editorial: PA Must Do Its Part To Stop Killing Chesapeake Bay

Milton Standard Editorial: PA Must Stop Killing The Chesapeake Bay

Waynesboro Record-Herald Editorial: PA Must Stop Killing The Chesapeake Bay

Bradford Era Editorial: PA Must Stop Killing The Chesapeake Bay

Related Articles:

-- Williamsport Sun-Gazette: Pennsylvania Must Stop Killing The Chesapeake Bay [PaEN]

-- Chesapeake Bay Foundation: It Takes A Shared Commitment To Stop Killing The Susquehanna And Local Waters

-- Chesapeake Bay Commission Recommends Increasing Federal Fund To Chesapeake Bay Watershed Cleanup

-- Funding Flashback 2020: Senate Environmental Committee Puts Spotlight On Funding Needed To Implement PA Clean Water Plan At Chesapeake Bay Briefing

-- Funding Flashback 2017:  PA Chesapeake Bay Commission Members Spotlight Need For Clean Water Fund In PA

-- Bay Journal Forum: Muddy Creek Chapter Trout Unlimited's Many Hands Make Light Work Of Tree-Planting In York County 

-- Middle & Lower Susquehanna RiverKeepers, File Notice Of Lawsuit Over Fish & Wildlife Service Decision To Deny Endangered Species Protection For Eastern Hellbenders 

[Posted: March 5, 2021]  PA Environment Digest

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