PA Environment Digest Blog

Friday, October 30, 2015

October UpStream Newsletter Now Available From Stroud Water Research Center

The October issue of UpStream, the monthly newsletter from the Stroud Water Research Center in Avondale, Chester County, is now available featuring stories on--

-- Stroud Connects International Leaders With Freshwater Solutions

-- Stroud Scientist Takes Rotator Post At National Science Foundation

-- Pouring Water Quality Into Bhutan’s Gross National Happiness Index

-- Upcoming Events

-- Click Here to sign up for your own copy.

9 PA Schools Leading In EPA Athletic Conference Green Power Challenge

Nine Pennsylvania schools are leading so far this season in the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s College and University Green Power Conference Challenge.

Throughout the 2015-2016 academic year, EPA's Green Power Partnership will track the collegiate athletic conferences with the highest combined green power usage in the nation.

So far this year here are the standings--

-- Ivy League: University of Pennsylvania (54% green power);

-- University Athletic Association: Carnegie Mellon University (101% green power);

-- Colonial Athletic Association: Drexel University (100% green power);

-- Centennial Conference: Dickinson College (90% green power);

-- Atlantic 10: Duquesne University (36% green power);

-- North Coast Athletic Conference: Allegheny College (100% green power);

-- Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference: Philadelphia University (100% green power);

-- Middle Atlantic Conference: Lebanon Valley College (100% green power); and

-- PA Athletic Conference: Mercyhurst University (105% green power).

Check EPA’s College and University Green Power Conference Challenge webpage for the latest rankings.

Chesapeake Bay Foundation-PA: Native Plants A Cool Choice For Fall Planting

By Harry Campbell, Chesapeake Bay Foundation-PA Office Director

As you find time to put away deck furniture, winterize gardens, and give the lawn its last good mowing, consider adding native plants to the landscaping. They can pay dividends for years to come.

According to our Chesapeake Bay Foundation restoration specialists, who know a thing or two about plants, now through Thanksgiving can be the best time to put beneficial native plants into the ground.

Native Pennsylvania plants are commonly defined as those that grew in the Commonwealth before European settlers arrived.
Whether it be flowers, trees, shrubs, or grasses, there is a native plant for every purpose and desire. (Photo by Clair Ryan/Chesapeake Bay Foundation.)

“Plants planted in the fall, especially trees and shrubs, tend to put their energy into root growth, instead of leaf growth,” says Clair Ryan, our watershed restoration program manager in Harrisburg. “This gives them a strong foundation for rapid growth in the spring.”

Many plants also go dormant in the fall and winter and don’t require much moisture to survive until the spring. With plants already in the ground, they are ready to take advantage of spring rains.

Native flowers and herbaceous plants often need less water, fertilizer and other maintenance. Native plants absorb and filter water, a significant factor in reducing the amount of harmful nitrogen, phosphorus, and sediment runoff that pollutes Pennsylvania waterways.

Food and habitat are among other benefits native plants provide.

“Native plants offer our native wildlife a food source that they are used to and need,” says Ashley Spotts, who works in York, Lancaster, Lebanon, and Chester counties. “It’s the beginning of the food chain.”

“Natives can usually tolerate extreme heat, cold, drought, and flooding better than non-natives, because they are adapted to the area,” Frank Rohrer adds. “This means less replacement of dead and injured plants for homeowners.”

Frank works in Centre, Clinton, Lycoming, Union, Snyder, Juniata and Mifflin counties.

Native warm-season grasses provide nesting and winter cover for many types of wildlife. Their sturdy, thick stems provide a shield from snow, weather, and predators better than short-growing, non-native grasses.

Planting in wet areas in the fall should be avoided at all costs. Steve Smith says, “depending on the severity of the winter, plants installed in the fall tend to heave out of the ground, sometimes completely, resulting in high mortality.”

Steve is in Potter, Tioga and Bradford counties. Kristen Kitchen works in Cumberland, Dauphin, and Franklin counties. Jennifer Johns works in Bradford, Susquehanna, Sullivan, and Wyoming counties.

Fall is the best time for planting containerized seedlings, while bare root seedlings do best in the spring. Clair Ryan adds that for trees and shrubs, using stakes and shelters can provide support and protection from wildlife damage. These practices are often used in establishing buffers.

Steve Smith suggests considering several factors when selecting native plants. “What are your priorities for the planting area,” he asks. “Are you trying to enhance an area near a stream? Do you prefer certain species such as pollinators, songbirds, in-stream critters, fish species, or wildlife in general? Are fruit and nut products important?”

Think about the soil and the planting area itself. Do not plant a tree that needs upland type soil in a wetland. Be careful to choose shade tolerant species for shady areas and those that like full sun in sunny areas.

Select plants that will survive in your cold hardiness zone, Frank Rohrer suggests. Consider the size of the plants at maturity and be sure to choose species that will not get in the way of driveways, fences, paths, or roadsides.

From the myriad flowers, trees, shrubs, grasses, and ferns, there is a native plant to serve every purpose and desire.

A terrific resource for selecting and installing native plants can be found at the Native Plant Center website. There you can find the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Guide, “Native Plants for Wildlife Habitat and Conservation Landscaping Chesapeake Bay Watershed.”

Take it from the pros who know. Getting back to basics with native plants can make our waters cleaner, and life easier for the gardener.

PA Wilds Program Awards Mini-Grants To Promote Tourism In The 13-County Region

The PA Wilds Program Team Friday announced the award of grants under its 2015 Mini-Grant Program.

The PA Wilds Team had $25,000 total to award, and awarded all of that across five projects, leveraging a total of $45,500 in match contributions – more than the required dollar-for-dollar match. More than $130,000 in funding requests were received.

Grants were given to:

-- PA Route 6 – For development of Dark Sky orientation kits with information on the dark skies, maps to the park, sky maps for home viewing, red filters for flashlights and a sticker identifying “star gazers.” The kits will be distributed to Galeton school children, made available at local businesses and at festivals free of charge.

-- Oh My Stars, Endless Mountains Music Fest – Supports arts and music programming in conjunction with state park programming and events at Cherry Springs State Park in Potter County, a major attraction in the Pennsylvania Wilds.

-- Cameron County Industrial Development Authority –This project will cover expenses to professionally landscape the Northern Tier Community Action Corp. building, a historic landmark in the town that is important to community revitalization efforts.

-- Elk County Striders – To support the continued growth of the Bolder Dash, a 20-mile trail run that highlights some of the most dramatic woods in Elk County drawing runners, walkers and hikers from local areas and outside the region.

-- PA Wilds Center for Entrepreneurship - For development of an external branding and marketing strategy for the PA Wilds Artisan Trail.

Community Project Teams that participated in two past workshops offered by the PA Wilds Team, in 2007 and 2012, were invited to apply to the mini-grant program.

The 2007 workshop entitled “Balancing Commerce and Nature for Sustainable Community Development” included seven teams of community leaders to address issues of specific concern to their areas and to create “vision to action” plans to guide collaboration among diverse interests in their communities.

The 2012 workshop entitled “Connecting Nature, Economy, and Community Character,” included nine teams from several different counties looking to advance sustainable tourism projects important to their areas and that revolve around the region’s natural and cultural assets.

Funding for the Planning Team’s 2015 Mini-Grant Program was provided through the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources Community Conservation and Partnerships Grant Program and therefore must adhere to all statewide rules and regulations.

Awardees have one year to complete their project.

The Pennsylvania Wilds region includes the counties of Warren, Forest, Elk, Potter, McKean, Tioga, Clinton, Lycoming, Clearfield, Jefferson, Cameron and Clarion, Northern Centre.

For more information programs, initiatives and events, visit the PA Wilds Team. Click Here to sign up for monthly updates from PA Wilds.

DEP Invites Comments On New Policy For Assessing, Reporting Stream Quality

The Department of Environmental Protection published notice in the October 31 PA Bulletin announcing the availability of draft technical guidance on Documenting and Reporting Measurable, Incremental Improvements in Water Quality of Streams, Rivers and Lakes.

The purpose of these guidelines is to explain the process for the Department staff, and others involved in water quality monitoring, in documenting and reporting measurable, incremental improvements for water quality in streams, rivers and lakes towards an impairment free condition.

The information collected through the guidelines will be used to develop the Department's biennial Pennsylvania Improving Waters Report, which is not meant to replace the biennial Pennsylvania Integrated Water Quality Monitoring and Assessment (Sections 305(b) and 303(d)) Report to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Instead, the Pennsylvania Improving Waters Report will illustrate water quality attainment successes described in the Integrated Report and share information about surface waters that show incremental improvement.

Comments on the technical guidance are due November 30.

A copy of the draft technical guidance will be available on DEP’s eComment webpage and comments may be submitted via that same page.

For more information, contact Diane Wilson by calling 717-787-3730 or send email: diawilson@pa.gov.

DEP: Final Coastal Resources Management Strategy Now Available

The Department of Environmental Protection published notice in the October 31 PA Bulletin announcing the availability of the final Coastal Resources Management Assessment and Strategy for the Commonwealth required by the Federal Coastal Zone Management Program.

This assessment is part of a voluntary coastal zone enhancement grants program that encourages states and territories to develop program changes in one or more of the following nine coastal enhancement areas: coastal wetlands; coastal hazards; public access; marine debris; cumulative and secondary impacts; special area management planning; ocean/Great Lakes resources; energy and government facility siting and activities; and aquaculture.

The notice said a copy of the Strategy will be available on DEP’s Coastal Resources Management webpage.

Alliance For Chesapeake Bay: How To Build A Rain Garden And Reduce Stormwater

The Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay has a guide on how homeowners can reduce stormwater runoff by constructing a rain garden.

Rain gardens are an easy and effective tool that we can use to help reduce stormwater runoff from residential properties. These gardens are strategically placed to intercept pollutant laden stormwater runoff until it can be fully absorbed into the ground.

Their design allows the rain garden to serve almost as a bowl that collects water from downspouts or overland flow across a property. The water is then able to slowly infiltrate into the underlying soil.

Rain gardens can come in all different shapes and sizes but are best when planted with native plants that are indigenous to the Chesapeake Bay watershed. These plants require little maintenance once established, have deep roots that soak up lots of water, provide food and habitat to wildlife, and are beautiful.

Click Here to watch a video on how to install a rain garden. Click Here to learn more.