ClearWater Conservancy has received a $250,000 grant from the Richard King Mellon Foundation of Pittsburgh to restore damaged streams in Centre County and Central Pennsylvania.

Under the terms of the grant, ClearWater will use the funds to restore 20,000 linear feet of stream, install 10,000 feet of streambank fencing to limit livestock access, remove invasive plants and plant native trees in the stream side area called the ‘riparian zone.’

“This private foundation grant is coming at a great time to add capacity to a program that is already accelerating in scope, complexity and on-the-ground accomplishments. There are plenty of damaged and degraded stream reaches in Central Pennsylvania and with these funds, we can work with interested landowners to put many more feet of it into the ‘restored’ category,” said Katie Ombalski, conservation biologist and staff lead of the Riparian Conservation Program.

ClearWater Conservancy initiated its Riparian Conservation Program in 2004 to eliminate stream impairments caused by human impacts from agricultural, housing and industrial development and to prevent additional streams from becoming impaired.

When people live or farm close to streams, vegetation in riparian areas is commonly disturbed or removed. This disturbance quickly begins to unravel the delicate balance that once existed between soil, water, plants and animals. Stream banks quickly become destabilized, streams become silted and warm, invasive plant species begin to colonize, and riparian-dependent wildlife disappears.

The goal of ClearWater's Riparian Conservation Program is to improve stream quality in Central Pennsylvania through the program’s four areas of focus: stream assessment, stewardship, restoration, and protection.

The program educates homeowners and farmers about the importance of vegetated stream side buffers and stream banks; conducts large and small scale restoration projects, installs agricultural best management practices and permanently protects riparian areas through conservation easements and direct purchase of ecologically important properties.

In 2004, the primary focus was to plant forested riparian buffers within the Spring Creek watershed. Over the years, the scope has expanded to include many central Pennsylvania watersheds.

The projects have increased in complexity, as well, and have included the development of conservation and forest stewardship plans, extensive stream channel stabilization, in-stream habitat improvements, dam removals, large riparian buffer plantings, and various agricultural best management practices and improvements including stream bank fencing, stabilized livestock crossings and watering systems, among others.

So far, ClearWater has restored about 73,000 linear feet of stream, removed three non-functioning dams, and installed 94 acres of streamside buffer, 168 fish enhancement structures and 16 stream crossings for livestock.

The conservancy is not geographically limited by the terms of the grant, but stream improvements will most likely take place in the Spring, Spruce, Little Fishing, Penns and Shaver’s Creek watersheds.

“The Richard King Mellon Foundation’s willingness to invest in our work in this significant way is a new testament to the effectiveness of our program and our demonstrated ability to work with landowners, contractors, funding partners, and volunteers to get restoration work done in our region,” said ClearWater Executive Director Jennifer Shuey.

For more information, visit the ClearWater Conservancy website.

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