Welcome to the 10th edition of Runoff Rundown, the Center for Watershed Protection electronic newsletter! You are receiving this newsletter either because you are on the Center's regular mailing list or because you have asked to subscribe. If you would like to elect not to receive future newsletters and updates, REPLY to this message with the word UNSUBSCRIBE in the subject line. You can visit us online at http://www.cwp.org.
Here's what
we have for you in this issue:
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* Staff
News
* Watershed Restoration Institute
* This Just In
* Project Updates
* Upcoming Workshops
* Article: Builders For the Bay Is Making Region-wide Progress
* Article: Rapid Watershed Planning in Tennessee
* FYI
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STAFF NEWS:
Center staff are gearing up for a frisbee challenge with the Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay early next month. ACB staff take note: the Center takes no prisoners!
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WATERSHED RESTORATION INSTITUTE: Sept. 21-26, 2003, Reisterstown, MD
The Watershed Restoration Institute is an intensive six-day program developed by the Center for Watershed Protection, River Network, and several other cooperating organizations to equip local urban watershed leaders with the skills and tools to plan, design and implement effective restoration programs in their home watersheds.
The Watershed Restoration
Institute is more than just a conference! Our goal is to provide an intensive,
interactive learning experience within a committed community of watershed advocates,
leaving participants with skills that they can immediately begin using to make
their own organizations and agencies more effective. Most of the sessions at
the Institute will be interactive, with hands-on training both in the field
and in computer labs. Lecturing will be kept to a minimum, and additional time
will be allocated to focus on local issues in participants' home watersheds
in small group settings. With approximately 80 participants expected, the Institute
also presents a valuable networking opportunity. While the focus of the Institute
is on urban watershed issues, participants from primarily rural or agricultural
watersheds are welcome to attend as well.
For more information
and an application form, click here.
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THIS JUST IN:
* "Impacts of Urbanization
on Aquatic Systems": Completing our three-part series on the importance
of impervious cover, the Center's newest report is a comprehensive examination
of more than 225 multidisciplinary research studies documenting the impact of
urbanization and the associated impervious cover on aquatic systems, including
the many ways urbanization influences hydrologic, physical, water quality and
biological indicators of aquatic health. "Impacts" includes more than
100 graphics and tables and is a must-read for watershed leaders, policy-makers
and agency staff in watersheds across the country. "Impacts" is currently
available electronically from http://www.cwp.org
for $25; watch for the hard copy version to be available for $30 in the next
few weeks.
* Electronic Products: Now you can download select Center publications
electronically, with no waiting or shipping costs! Visit our online store and
check out all the electronic resources we have available...and take advantage
of our April Special!
* APRIL SPECIAL: Get $5 off the electronic version of our new "Impacts
of Urbanization on Aquatic Systems" report all this month with this online
coupon code: 4RAIN03.
* Workshops: Want
the Center to give a workshop in your area? We're currently scheduling workshops
for 2003-2004. Read more about our workshops here: http://www.cwp.org/watershed_learning_marketing.pdf,
or contact Jennifer Zielinski at jaz@cwp.org
to inquire about availability.
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PROJECT UPDATES:
The big news this month is the long-awaited release of our research monograph The Impacts of Impervious Cover on Aquatic Systems, which provides an objective synthesis of more than 225 research studies on this important topic. Response has been very strong, and almost 150 copies were downloaded in the first week it was available on our website. We have been working to cement stronger organizational and financial partnerships with the Canaan Valley Institute, the River Network and our Builders for the Bay partners. Planning for the Watershed Restoration Institute is gathering steam, and we should have some great information to pass your way in the next few weeks. Staff were also pleased to complete the CBLAD Better Site Design case studies project, which assessed the current state of better site design in Virginia, identified barriers, and recommended strategies for overcoming them. The full report from that project is available in .PDF format here: http://www.cwp.org/VA_ BSD.pdf
Staff also previewed elements of our forthcoming Small Watershed Restoration Manual at a national meeting of 300 folks Chicago, which was scheduled during the teeth of the President's Day snowstorm that hit the East coast. Our two new methods for urban watershed assessment, the Unified Stream Assessment (USA) and Unified Subwatershed Site Reconnaissance (USSR), were a big hit. We're working in other areas of the country as well. The Center is working with the salmon recovery office of the State of Washington to improve their stormwater programs to protect salmon habitat, and staff helped the Milwaukee Metropolitan Sanitation District in Wisconsin brainstorm strategies to reduce stormwater volumes entering their combined sewer system. Watershed work continues in Goose Creek (VA) and Bush River (MD), with draft plans expected over the next few months. Builders for the Bay has also become quite active, with a new roundtable in progress in the Harrisburg, PA area, a roundtable winding down in Harford County, MD, and active negotiations with a half dozen communities throughout the Bay watershed. Factoid of the month: There are more than twice as many acres of lawn in the Chesapeake Bay watershed as there are freshwater wetlands.
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WORKSHOP/CONFERENCE SCHEDULE
For details, see our calendar at http:/www.cwp.org/calendar.htm.
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ARTICLE: Builders for the Bay Is Making Region-wide Progress
Since the Builders for the Bay Agreement was signed in 2001, the Center for Watershed Protection (CWP), the Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay (ACB), and the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) have been aggressively pursuing local site planning roundtable partners throughout the Chesapeake Bay watershed. Based on 22 model development principles known collectively as "better site design," a local site planning roundtable helps communities evaluate existing local development rules and recommends changes to achieve more environmentally sensitive development. At the end of the year-long roundtable process, the roundtable members endorse a Consensus Agreement that outlines recommended changes.
While the concept of a local
site planning roundtable is not new, the BFB agreement forged a unique partnership
to implement more of these roundtables throughout the Chesapeake Bay watershed.
Two roundtables have been successfully launched as part of this program to date,
and several more are in the works.
Read the full article here: http://www.cwp.org/RR10_BFB_article.htm.
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ARTICLE: Rapid Watershed Planning in Tennessee
Middle Tennessee's Duck River is arguably one of the nation's most ecologically diverse and biologically significant rivers. Managing the 2,800 square mile drainage area to protect this aquatic gem is a challenge the Nature Conservancy's Duck River Office (TNC) does not take for granted. To tackle this behemoth task, TNC is taking a closer look at the Duck's individual tributaries and their watersheds using the rapid watershed planning approach at a local level - starting with Big Rock Creek.
Big Rock Creek is one of the few tributaries to the Duck River that maintains year-round flow, and it is home to state-listed aquatic rare, threatened or endangered species of fish and freshwater mussels. However, almost 20 miles of Big Rock streams are listed as non- or partially-supporting of designated uses due to excessive siltation and nutrients, organic enrichment, and habitat alteration. Additionally, the main municipality within the watershed is a NPDES Phase II community that frequently expresses concern over problematic flooding.
The Nature Conservancy teamed with the Center for Watershed Protection to assess the current state of the Big Rock Creek watershed and craft a management plan to protect and restore the biological and physical health of Big Rock Creek. Groundwork for the final plan was based on an extensive evaluation of biological and physical stream conditions, mapping and flooding analyses, water quality and programmatic investigations, usage surveys of various agricultural conservation practices within the watershed, and stakeholder input. Read the full article here: http://www.cwp.org/RR10_BRC_article.htm
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FYI
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Have comments, questions, feedback, or want to unsubscribe? Contact Heather Holland at hkh@cwp.org.