Maintaining Forests in Stream Corridor Restoration

admin2023-05-23T13:46:38-04:00November 28th, 2022|

A recent, rapid increase in the implementation of stream restoration projects in the Chesapeake Bay watershed has led to growing controversy over the short-term adverse impacts of these projects on streamside forest buffers. Stream restoration may also contribute to long-term impacts on the riparian community as delayed tree loss occurs due to altered water levels, soil compaction, and other effects from the adjacent construction activity. Both stream restoration and forest buffers are a significant component of state plans to restore the Chesapeake Bay by 2025; therefore, the EPA Chesapeake Bay Program has a vested interest in promoting synergy between efforts [...]

How Not to Stress About the Effects of Climate Change on Our Planet

admin2022-11-28T11:55:10-05:00September 26th, 2022|

There's no doubt about it — climate change is a very real phenomenon that is impacting the globe in a disturbing, almost surreal manner. And because we feel like we have little control over what is happening around us, it is easy to become overly distressed about the situation that we're all faced with. However, it's important not to let our experiences with nature thus far dampen our optimism for the future. Here's how. Coping with the mental aspect of it all If you're experiencing eco-anxiety, it might be helpful to know you aren't alone and that it is okay [...]

Project Update: Using a Novel Research Framework to Assess Water Quality Impacts of Urban Trees

admin2022-12-01T08:11:20-05:00September 21st, 2022|

Urban trees impact the hydrologic cycle by capturing runoff in the canopy, drawing water from the soil, and adding organic matter to the soil to increase infiltration. These processes collectively contribute to the ability of urban trees to reduce the amount of rainfall that contributes to stormwater runoff. Increasingly municipal stormwater programs allow site developers to earn stormwater management “credit” for preserving or planting trees on development sites. Modeling tools such as i-Tree Hydro and the Center’s urban tree credit calculators have helped to improve how we quantify the effects of urban trees on stormwater runoff. The Center was awarded [...]

Project Update: Stormwater Management Retrofit Inventory in Strasburg Borough, PA

admin2022-07-22T15:00:32-04:00July 22nd, 2022|

For the past three years, the Center for Watershed Protection (CWP) has operated a Circuit Rider program to provide technical assistance to municipalities in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania on reducing stormwater pollution. This work has included technical support to the Lancaster Clean Water Partners, working collaboratively with the Center for Water Quality Excellence to bridge gaps between agricultural and municipal stakeholders, and, most recently, engaging Strasburg Borough in a green infrastructure opportunity analysis. This past Spring, CWP worked with the Strasburg Borough manager and ELA Group to conduct a stormwater management retrofit inventory across the entire Borough. Stormwater retrofits are structural [...]

2022 National Watershed & Stormwater Conference Highlights

admin2022-06-20T12:18:03-04:00May 31st, 2022|

From April 26th to April 29th, the Center for Watershed Protection, Inc. hosted its seventh annual National Watershed & Stormwater Conference in St. Petersburg, Florida. Each year, this conference provides a forum for sharing fresh ideas on watershed and stormwater management principles and practices. This year, there was a tremendous level excitement felt by the conference attendees in participating in the in-person event after two years of virtual conferences. The Center went above and beyond to make this a thrilling event filled with presentation about cutting edge research with experienced practitioners, evening activities which provided opportunities to network, and field trips [...]

Upcoming Virtual Training Series

admin2022-06-20T12:18:29-04:00May 12th, 2022|

Celebrate our 30th anniversary by going “back to the basics” with experts at the CWP Experts at the Center for Watershed Protection will share their experience, resources, and tools curated from decades of collaboration and industry leadership so that you may do more effective and efficient watershed work. This late summer virtual training series, beginning August 23, 2022 is comprised of six training modules, each of which is 90-minutes of live, interactive training with Center for Watershed Protection staff. Attendees will enhance their industry knowledge and skillset, network with industry professionals, receive access to guidance documents and manuals, and earn [...]

Evaluating the Economic Benefits of Land Protection in the Savannah River Basin

admin2022-05-31T11:11:17-04:00March 29th, 2022|

The mission of the Savannah River Clean Water Fund is to protect and restore forests in the Savannah River Basin to help provide safe, reliable, and affordable drinking water for the communities and businesses in the region. The Fund was formed based on the shared recognition among public and private interests in the Savannah River Basin of the explicit connection between the Basin’s land resources and uses and their impacts on raw water supplies. To maintain the quality of the Savannah River as a drinking water source, the Fund has set a goal of maintaining 60% natural cover in the [...]

Five Reasons to Join Us in St. Pete

Marlyn Argueta2022-06-20T13:28:55-04:00March 23rd, 2022|

Despite being one of the nation’s fastest-growing cities, being consistently ranked as a top arts and cultural destination among cities its size and holding the Guinness World Record for the longest number of consecutive sunshine days in the world (768 days), the city of St. Petersburg, Florida still somehow manages to slip under the radar as a top destination. I’ve been visiting St. Pete for a couple years now and every time I go, I find another reason to go back! If you have been to one of our events before you know that you are in for a unique [...]

The Self-Recovery of Stream Channel Stability in Urban Watersheds

admin2022-01-25T10:22:06-05:00January 24th, 2022|

For more than 10 years, stormwater engineers in Carroll County, Maryland have experimented with the retrofit of existing stormwater ponds originally designed to reduce the rate of runoff to downstream receiving streams. Modeling results indicate that these retrofit designs—specifically, enhanced sand filter and wet pond designs—capture and retain enough rainfall that peak flows from the two-year storm are less than those from a wooded site in good condition. Carroll County also observed that the highly eroded streambanks downstream of the retrofits stopped retreating and began to re-vegetate over months or years after the construction of the retrofits. Given these results, [...]

Fishable and Swimmable Goals in the Delaware River Basin

admin2021-11-22T16:21:33-05:00November 19th, 2021|

The William Penn Foundation provides extensive funding for protection and restoration activities in the four-state Delaware River Basin towards the long term goal of ensuring all 25,000+ miles of stream are fishable and swimmable. In 2020, the Center led a study for the Foundation to assess the feasibility of developing Basin-wide metrics to measure progress on securing sustained regulatory protections for streams. As part of this study, the Center reviewed state Clean Water Act policies and analyzed data provided by the Basin states. This analysis showed that only 6% of Delaware Basin streams are currently meeting both fishable and swimmable [...]