The Western Pennsylvania Conservancy will present the draft Watershed Conservation Plan for Connoquenessing Creek and its tributaries in Allegheny, Beaver, Butler, and Lawrence counties at a series of public meetings in February.

Area residents are encouraged to attend one of the scheduled public meetings to review the draft plan, which creates a vision for the watershed community, and provide their comments.

The deadline to submit comments is March 28.

Meetings are scheduled for February 19 at the Ellwood City Borough Auditorium (use rear entrance); February 20 at Harmony Museum’s Stewart Hall; and February 21 at the Penn Township Municipal Building (East Airport Road off of Route 8 south of Butler). Meetings will be held from 5 p.m. until 8 p.m. with formal presentations being held at 6:30 p.m.

Copies of the Watershed Conservation Plan will be available for review at each meeting, before and after the presentation. Copies also will be available for review at County Conservation Districts, local public libraries, and on the project website.

WPC developed the Watershed Conservation Plan in cooperation with the Connoquenessing Watershed Alliance, local municipalities, agencies, and individuals using a locally driven planning process.

The plan focuses on natural resources such as land, water, plants and animals; cultural resources such as recreation and history; and socio-economic impacts of the watershed, and makes recommendations based on public input to conserve or enhance its valuable assets.

The goals of the Connoquenessing Creek Watershed Conservation Plan are to actively engage the watershed community in addressing water-quality concerns, promoting sound planning, and protecting the cultural, historical, and natural resources of this diverse rural-urban watershed through educational and recreational opportunities.

Funding for the plan is provided, in part, by a grant from the Keystone Recreation, Park, and Conservation Fund under the administration of Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, Bureau of Recreation and Conservation.

For more information, please contact Western Pennsylvania Conservancy, Freshwater Conservation Program at 724-459-0953.

2/1/2008