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500 Attend Keystone Coldwater Conference, Schuylkill Watershed Congress

One Year Old Jonah is Why We Cleanup Our Watersheds

Over the last two weekends 500 people attended the Keystone Coldwater Conference and the Schuylkill Watershed Congress anxious to learn more about how to protect and restore Pennsylvania’s watersheds. Here’s a quick summary of each of these very successful conferences.

Keystone Coldwater Conference Attended by 300

The Pennsylvania Council of Trout Unlimited held their 8th Keystone Coldwater Conference on February 22-23 at the Penn Stater Conference Center in State College.

This year’s conference, titled “Headwater Ecosystems: Protection, Management and Research” focused on tools and techniques to best protect headwater ecosystems and highlighted emerging research and successful partnerships.

The conference was attended by nearly 300 people from Conservation Districts, watershed associations, Trout Unlimited Chapters, conservation agencies and universities.

The conference featured keynote presentations from Larry Schweiger, President of the National Wildlife Foundation, and Bern Sweeney, President of the Stroud Water Research Center. They spoke with the audience about the current state of our headwater ecosystems, the threats we face, and why they are imperative to protect.

Eight breakout sessions rounded out the morning and afternoon, with presentations from the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, Clean Water Action, SE Montgomery TU, National Trout Unlimited, Fish and Boat Commission, Western Pennsylvania Conservancy, U.S. Fish and Wildlife, the Department of Environmental Protection, and Penn State University.

Some conference participants also attended a headwater taxonomy and field identification workshop looking at headwater amphibians, reptiles, fish, mussels, invertebrates and plants. The Conference agenda and session descriptions are available on the Coldwater Heritage website.

The 2010 conference will be held on February 26-27 at the Penn Stater Conference Center in State College.

PA Trout Unlimited is a non-profit organization working to conserve and enhance Pennsylvania’s coldwater resources. PA Trout Unlimited organizes this conference every two years.

For additional information about the program content, please contact Deb Nardone by sending email to: dnardone@coldwaterheritage.org or call 814-359-5233.

Schuylkill Watershed Congress Attracts Nearly 200

Nearly 200 people gathered for the Schuylkill Watershed Congress on March 1-2 to share ideas on how to better protect and restore watersheds on the Southeast.

The Keynote Speaker was John K. Jackson, Senior Research Scientist, at the Stroud Water Research Center, who spoke on the topic, "Is a Cold Water Fishery by any other name still as clean a stream? A look at Pennsylvania's complex system for labeling streams and what these labels mean for a stream's biodiversity, management, and protection."

Attendees also took advantage of 30 different breakout sessions on a variety of topics in addition to three watershed tours the following day to a Natural Lands Trust meadows management project, the Fairmount Water Works Interpretive Center and a stream bank stabilization project by the Lower Merion Conservancy.

An impressive group of nearly 50 groups helped sponsor the event including: Delaware Riverkeeper Network, Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, Albert Scientific, Alliance for Aquatic Resource Monitoring, Berks County Conservancy, Berks County Conservation District, Bucks County Planning Commission, Center in the Park Senior Environmental Corps, Chesapeake Bay Foundation, Chester County Conservation District, Clean Water Action, Eastern Pennsylvania Coalition for Abandoned Mine Reclamation, Friends of Manayunk Canal, Friends of Mingo Creek, Greater Pottstown Watershed Alliance, Green Valleys Association, Hay Creek Watershed Association, League of Women Voters of PA WREN Project, Lower Merion Conservancy, Maiden Creek Watershed Association, A.D. Marble & Co., Monocacy Hill Conservation Association, Montgomery County Community College, Montgomery County Conservation District, Montgomery County Lands Trust, Montgomery County Planning Commission, Natural Lands Trust, Nolde Forest Environmental Education Center, Octoraro Native Plant Nursery, Pennsylvania Environmental Council, Pennsylvania Horticultural Society, Pennsylvania Organization for Watersheds and Rivers, Pennsylvania Sea Grant, Perkiomen Valley Trout Unlimited, Perkiomen Watershed Conservancy, Philadelphia Water Department, Schuylkill Action Network, Schuylkill Canal Association, Schuylkill Conservation District, Schuylkill Headwaters Association, Schuylkill River National and State Heritage Area, Stell Environmental Enterprises, Streamline Organizational Services, Stroud Water Research Center, Tulpehocken Creek Trout Unlimited, Valley Creek Restoration Partnership, Valley Forge Trout Unlimited, West Chester Fish, Game & Wildlife Association and United States Fish and Wildlife Service.

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