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Lake and Watershed News
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F. X.
Browne, Inc.
Lake
and Watershed News
April 2005
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“Could it be we live on earth?
On earth forever?
Just one brief instant here.
Even the finest stones begin to split,
Even gold is tarnished
Even precious bird-plumes
Shrivel like a cough.
Just one brief instant here.”
-
Nezahualcoyotl (Hungry-Coyote)
Alcohuan
King of Texcoco, Mexico (1403-1472)
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Editors Note:
Earth Day is upon us once
again, when our attention turns to thoughts of spring, gardening, enjoying
the outdoors, and protecting our lakes and rivers. Here are a few ideas for
ways to celebrate Earth Day:
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Sign
up for the Pennsylvania
Watershed Snapshot 2005. Join the thousands of volunteers on April
15–24 who will be sampling streams, lakes, and ponds, and reporting
their results online.
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Also
in Pennsylvania, the
Great PA Cleanup will take place April 23.
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National
Environmental Education Week is a full week of educational
preparation for Earth Day and will involve some 400,000 educators and 15
million students.
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Visit
the
Earth Day Network to find an Earth Day event in your area. |
Growing Greener II Update:
The PA House would take up Gov. Rendell’s budget proposal on April 11,
giving members until April 4 to get their amendments together. The Senate
meanwhile moved the Growing Greener ballot question legislation –
House Bill 2 – into position for a final vote, assuming the Senate,
House and Rendell Administration can agree on a bond issue dollar amount.
Thanks to the following
contributors to this month’s newsletter: Brad Garie; Linda Green, URI
Cooperative Extension; Linda Armstrong, Pymatuning
State Park; and Michael Martin, CLM, Cedar Eden
Environmental.
Topic of
the Month
Springtime is the Right Time for Shoreline
Stabilization
Spring is an excellent
time for lakeshore property owners to take stock of their shorelines. Winter
freezes, fall storms, spring maintenance – all can take their toll on
shoreline vegetation. Damaged vegetation can lead to erosion along
shorelines, especially where wind or boat action cause waves to hit the
shore. Soil erosion contributes nutrients and sediments to lakes, leading to
degraded water quality.
For information on
shoreline and streambank restoration, click on the following F. X. Browne,
Inc. publications:
For a photo gallery
showing examples of plants that can be used in lake
shoreline restoration projects, visit the F. X. Browne, Inc.
Riparian Buffer Photo Gallery. F. X. Browne, Inc. has extensive
experience in shoreline stabilization using bioengineering techniques. Our
designs use natural vegetative methods to stabilize eroding shorelines and
to create and enhance wildlife habitat. For more information, contact
info@fxbrowne.com.
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Interesting
and Unusual Lake Names
Thank you to those
readers who submitted unusual lake names for last month’s contest. The
following are a few of the top entries:
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Lake Hopatcong, Morris/Sussex Counties, NJ - New Jersey's largest
lake whose name means "lake of many coves."
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Sin and Flesh Brook,
Tiverton, RI – Although it isn’t a lake name, we couldn’t resist
including this stream, named after a murdered Quaker.
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Pymatuning Reservoir, northwestern PA
- Means “Crooked-Mouthed Man's Dwelling Place,” named after a Delaware
Indian Chief of that area who had a facial disfigurement
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Odd Lake - Chippewa
County, WI
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Lake Wallenpaupack, northeastern PA – Means "the stream of swift
and slow water," named after the river that feeds the reservoir
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Pekwachnamaykoskwaskwaypinwanik
Lake, Manitoba, Canada
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L Lake in Nebraska -
One of the shortest place names in the U. S.
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Although the State
of Maine takes the cake for interesting lake names, my favorite has
always been
Mooselookmeguntic Lake, said to have
originated from an ancient
Abenaki word meaning “portage to the
moose feeding place,” or “moose feeding among the trees.” ~ Editor
© November 1999.
Maine Department of Transportation
http://www.byways.org/
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News Clips
Enhancing the
Benefits of Riparian Buffers
Proper riparian buffer placement can make a difference not only for
water quality improvement, but also for wildlife habitat and landowner
needs, according to two USDA scientists. More…
Poll: Majority
Wants U.S. Federal Trust Fund for Clean Water
More than eight in 10 Americans believe that clean and safe water is a
national issue that deserves federal investment, according to a new poll
conducted jointly by Republican and Democratic polling firms.
More…
Wetland
Restoration a Sign of Regrowth in Iraq
A
team of international scientists in southern Iraq are looking to restore
a 7,000-square mile marsh ecosystem and the human economy that once
depended on the land. More…
Chesapeake Bay
Governments Looking to Mentor Other Communities
Officials from selected Chesapeake Bay Partner Communities are launching
a Peer Match program to help other local governments do their part to
help the Bay. More…
NJ Audubon
Advocates Deer Hunt
For the first time in its 108-year history, the New Jersey Audubon
Society is taking a stand on hunting and will ask the state to reduce
the population of white-tailed deer. More…
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Policy Update
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PA DEP Secretary McGinty recently
clarified DEP procedures under the state’s nationally renowned Land
Recycling Program, underscoring that the program is focused on efforts
to clean up and reuse commercial and industrial sites and is not
intended to expedite the development of farmland. |
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The Virginia General Assembly has approved a $50 million down payment
for
reducing nitrogen pollution from sewage treatment plants (STPs).
The legislature also committed Virginia to establishing a permanent,
long-term funding source to address the Commonwealth's water quality
needs. |
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NJ DEP Division of Fish and Wildlife
plans to stop stocking fish in seven big lakes in 2006 because
fishing license sales are sinking, and officials hope redirecting the
trout to some smaller lakes in urban areas and larger rivers could lure
new anglers to the sport. |
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US EPA initiated a
Drinking Water Lead Reduction Plan to strengthen, update and clarify
existing requirements for water utilities and states to test for and
reduce lead in drinking water. |
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Pregnant women in New Jersey communities with high childhood lead
poisoning levels may get free kits to test their homes for lead dust
under a
new state program. |
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The Bush
administration ordered coal-burning power plants to
cut mercury emissions by 70 percent to reduce levels of the toxic
substance in fish. The states of
New Jersey and
Pennsylvania have already announced that they will challenge the
rule in court and other states, along with several environmental groups,
are likely to follow suit. |
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The US EPA has recognized Pennsylvania’s commitment to clean energy
development by naming the Commonwealth a “Green
Power Partner.” |
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Good News and Bad News in the
Chesapeake Bay
First, the good news….
The
Chesapeake Bay population of bald eagles grew to 819 nesting pairs
in 2004, marking an eight percent increase from the previous year, and a
ten-fold increase since baywide data
collection began in 1977.
Now for the bad news…
A recent review of the
U.S. Forest Service’s Forest Inventory and Analysis data shows that the
Chesapeake Bay watershed continues to lose approximately 100 acres of
forest each day. This trend is based on data collected between 1984 and
2002 and is consistent with a previous analysis conducted in 1994.
Forest Inventory and Analysis data by state and by county can be
accessed through the
Map Maker program.
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How Much Water is in the Snow Banks?
The heavy snow pack
that blanketed the Northeast and
Mid-Atlantic this winter is melting, releasing millions of gallons of
water to help replenish streams and ground water. Just how much water
are we talking about? Ten inches of an “average” snow pack produces
about one inch of water. Ten inches of average snow within the city
limits of some major Eastern cities are:
Washington, DC: 1.2
billion gallons Boston: 0.8 billion gallons
New York City: 5.2
billion gallons
Philadelphia: 2.2
billion gallons
http://water.usgs.gov/waterwatc
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Blooming Grove Brook,
PA
© 2005 Rebecca
Buerkett
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Link Of
The Month
A new Chesapeake Bay
Program website is providing a holistic view of public education by
encouraging viewers to adopt a “Chesapeake Lifestyle.” The Chesapeake Club
is an online magazine that shows how to entertain, decorate, maintain a
lawn, tour, and cook in ways that protect the Chesapeake Bay and take
advantage of its resources. The food section provides the basics of cooking
crab, traditional recipes, and guides to restaurants that are part of the
Chesapeake Club. The site also includes tips on yard care that emphasizes
proper fertilizer use and planting native species, a guide to decorating
tips and entertaining, and recommendations for good spots for day trips
around the Bay.
http://www.chesapeakeclub.org/
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"In the 19th century,
we devoted our best minds to exploring nature.
In the 20th century,
we devoted ourselves to controlling and harnessing it.
In the 21st century,
the best minds are working on how to restore nature."
~ Stephen Ambrose,
Historian and Author, 1936–2002
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Upper St. Regis Lake, NY
© Rebecca Buerkett, 2004
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New
Tools and Publications
National Water Quality Assessment
Database
The US EPA Office of Water
National Water Quality Assessment Database summarizes electronic information
submitted by the states to EPA in 2002. This website is EPA's first-ever
interactive summary of state-reported water quality information and allows the
user to view assessments of individual waterbodies. It presents data in a format
designed for quick reference by water quality professionals. http://www.epa.gov/305b/2002report
Isolated
Wetlands Report
NatureServe
has recently completed an assessment of the potential impacts of the
SWANCC decision whereby millions of acres of
wetlands are no longer protected by the federal government. The information contained in the
study is designed to assist policymakers and land managers to better understand the biodiversity value of isolated
wetlands and plan for their protection.
http://www.natureserve.org/publications/isolatedwetlands.jsp
Conference
Proceedings: Actions Toward A Sustainable Great Lakes
In May 2004, over 200
policymakers, opinion leaders and stakeholders throughout the
binational Great Lakes-St. Lawrence region convened
in order to guide restoration, protection and sustainable use efforts in the
region. The conference was titled “Actions Toward a
Sustainable Great Lakes,” and was organized by 27 partner agencies and
organizations drawn from public, private and nongovernmental sectors in the
United States and Canada.
http://www.glc.org/announce/05/SustainabilityProceedings.pdf
Emergency
Response Exercises for Drinking Water and Wastewater Systems
The US EPA Office of Water
announced a new training tool to help water and wastewater systems improve their
emergency response capabilities. Emergency Response Tabletop Exercises for
Drinking Water and Wastewater System, a CD-based tool, will allow water
suppliers to test their Emergency Response Plans before an actual incident
occurs. The exercises include roles for water suppliers, health officials,
laboratories, fire, police, emergency medical services, local, state, and
federal officials.
http://www.epa.gov/safewater/security.
PA DEP
Watershed Stewardship Guide
PA DEP recently released
“Watershed Stewardship: A Planning and Resource Guide” to give grassroots
watershed groups and local governments a framework for developing comprehensive
watershed plans that address local goals, ensure compatibility with regional and
state-scale planning efforts, and provide groups with the most current data
available on restoration efforts. The guide comprises six toolboxes designed to
provide guidance on developing comprehensive watershed
plans. The Guide is available on CD and through the DEP e-Library.
For your convenience, we have
made the Guide available below and in the publications section of our website.
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Newsletter Editor:
Rebecca Buerkett
Design and Layout:
Dianne Brown
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Subscribe to this newsletter!
An email version
of F. X. Browne, Inc.'s Lake and Watershed
News is now available. To be added to our mailing list, please visit
http://www.fxbrowne.com/subscribe.
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F. X.
Browne, Inc. – Environmental Consulting
F. X. Browne, Inc.
Engineers – Planners – Scientists
27 Years of Excellence & Innovation
Corporate
Office: Lansdale, PA
Pocono Office: Marshalls
Creek, PA
New York Office:
Saranac Lake, NY
For more information, call us at (215) 362-3878 or visit:
http://www.fxbrowne.com.
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friendly version of the newsletter, click here.
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