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"Take nothing but
pictures. Leave nothing but footprints. Kill nothing but time."
~Motto of the Baltimore Grotto, a Caving Society
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Technical Assistance Funds Available
for Chesapeake Bay Environmental Projects
The National Fish
and Wildlife Foundation is providing technical assistance grants to
employ innovative, sustainable and cost-effective strategies for
protecting and restoring water quality and vital habitats within the
Chesapeake Bay watershed.
This program empowers those acting on a
local level in the Chesapeake Bay watershed by providing free access
to technical assistance throughout the course of their projects.
However, the technical assistance grants should not be relied upon
to implement on-the-ground work and is not a substitute for securing
the appropriate level of funding to successfully complete a project.
F. X. Browne, Inc., as one of the
approved technical assistance providers, offers expertise in the
following technical assistance areas:
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Habitat
restoration (e.g., coastal and riparian habitat, forests and
wetlands
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Agricultural conservation practices
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Land
conservation/protection (forest, farmland, and open space
preservation)
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Stormwater management practices and low impact development
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Land use
planning
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Water
quality and watershed planning (Phase 2 WIPs, MS4 programs)
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Public
access planning and design
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Citizen
stewardship activities and programs
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Social
marketing and communications
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Water
quality monitoring and modeling
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Climate
change adaptation planning
The technical
assistance program is designed to provide guidance and technical
assistance to public and non-profit organizations. It is not meant
to fund monitoring, engineering design, and implementation programs.
The typical technical assistance grant ranges from $3,000 to
$10,000. Ultimately, however, these technical assistance grants can
lead to larger grants that can include detailed studies, design, and
implementation.
Interested
municipal, county and non-profit organizations should contact Dr.
Frank Browne, P.E. at
fxbrowne@fxbrowne.com or 215-362-3878 for
free assistance in preparing and submitting a technical assistance
grant application. Visit our website at
www.fxbrowne.com for more
information on the technical assistance program.
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News Clips:
USGS Report
Compares Conventional and Low Impact Developments over 6 Year Period
The U.S.
Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Wisconsin Department of Natural
Resources, studied two residential basins in Cross Plains, Wisconsin, during
1999–2005. A paired-basin study design was used to compare runoff quantity
and quality from the two developments, one of which was developed in a
conventional way and the other was developed with low impact development
(LID).
More...
Plant Buffers Can Slow Runoff of Veterinary
Antibiotics
University of Missouri
scientists have found that plant buffers can reduce the amount of herbicide
and veterinary antibiotics found in surface runoff from farms.
More...
USDA Releases Study Showing
Conservation Practices Protect Water Resources in the Chesapeake Bay
Watershed
The U.S.
Department of Agriculture released a study,
“Assessment of
Conservation Practices on Cultivated Cropland in the Chesapeake Bay Region,”
which quantifies the effectiveness of conservation practices to reduce
sediment and nutrients from the Chesapeake Bay watershed.
More...
Native Trout Fare Best When Dams Use Natural
Stream Flow Management Practices
A new study shows that
native trout populations prefer natural stream flows.
More...
“When one tugs at a single thing in
nature, he finds it attached to the rest of the world.”
~John Muir
National Park Week – April 16th-24th
Take the
opportunity to enjoy the nation’s 394 national parks for free! Our
national parks are home to beautiful wildlife, spectacular scenery,
historic landmarks, and cultural treasures. Get out and enjoy the
spring weather, wildlife, and wildflowers that are common this time
of year. Whether you enjoy hiking, biking, fishing, or just sitting
and enjoying nature, this is the time to do it.
http://www.nationalparks.org/explore/?fa=national-park-week
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Photo credit
(above): cliff1066 on
Flickr.com
http://www.flickr.com/photos/nostri-imago/3533653439/
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Policy
Updates:
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Coming Together for Clean Water:
EPA’s Strategy to Protect America’s Waters
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
(EPA) released this strategy for meeting the nation’s clean water
strategic plan goals. The strategy includes ensuring transparency and
reporting on the health of waters, increasing protection of source
waters and watersheds, restoring degraded waters and ecosystems,
reducing pollution, and addressing new threats to our waters.
For more information, visit
http://blog.epa.gov/waterforum/
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Photo credit (above): Narith5 on
Flickr.com
http://www.flickr.com/photos/naritheole/2353261102/in/photostream/
“There is a
pleasure in the pathless woods,
There is a rapture on the lonely shore,
There is society, where none intrudes,
By the deep sea, and music in its roar:
I love not man the less, but Nature more.”
~George Gordon, Lord Byron
PA DEP Falcon Wire
Spring is here
and so are the falcons! Watch the falcons real-time using the live
streaming video broadcasted from the nest box on the Rachel Carson
State Office Building. A new younger female falcon has inhabited
the nest and has laid four eggs (as of March 18, 2011). The first
hatch is expected to take place during the third week in April.
This nest box has shown success over the years. This year, a female
from the 2009 nesting season was spotted nesting in Brookpark,
Ohio.
http://www.dep.state.pa.us/dep/falcon/
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Tools and
Publications:
EPA Updates Web Tool Providing Clean Water
Violation Trends and State Enforcement Response
The U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released an updated data and mapping tool
for comparing water quality trends. The interactive map provides information
for each state, including facilities that violate the Clean Water Act and state
enforcement actions. Data is provided for large and small water pollution
sources. The public can learn about inspections, violations and enforcement
actions over the past two years.
EPA News Release, March 24,
2011
http://yosemite.epa.gov/opa/admpress.nsf/0/8766584EBB314FEA8525785D004DE550
For more
information on interactive state dashboard for Clean Water Act violations, visit
http://www.epa-echo.gov/echo/ancr/us/
For more information on the 2009 Annual Noncompliance report, visit
http://www.epa-echo.gov/echo/ancr/us/docs/ANCR_2009.pdf
For more
information on the ECHO database, visit
http://www.epa-echo.gov
Watershed Organization Map
Gwen Johnson
of the Foundation for Pennsylvania Watersheds has created a new Watershed
Organization Map to assist volunteers in finding watershed groups across
Pennsylvania. This tool will also help increase collaboration and networking
between watershed groups.
To view the
Google map, visit
http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&hl=en&msa=0&msid=207456283482192539798.00048af4a8e011e003039&z=7
Foundation for Pennsylvania
Watersheds News Release, March 25, 2011
http://www.pennsylvaniawatersheds.org/?p=1991
“Oh Beautiful for
smoggy skies, insecticided grain,
For strip-mined mountain's majesty above the asphalt plain.
America, America, man sheds his waste on thee,
And hides the pines with billboard signs, from sea to oily sea.”
~George Carlin
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Butterflies and Moths of North America Database
Butterflies and Moths
of North America (BAMONA) is a new website by the USGS in which to collect,
store and share butterfly and moth species information and occurrence data.
The site contains species profiles, interactive distribution maps, and
photographs. You can be involved by submitting your sightings and sharing
photographs. The purpose of BAMONA is to collect and provide access to
quality controlled data about butterflies and moths. The project
started at Montana State University. Data is provided from individual
citizens, museums, personal collections, published literature, and
professional lepidopterists. Collaborating lepidopterists provide
quality control. Data and metadata are stored in a database and
provided on the website.http://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/
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Newsletter Editor/Design and Layout:
Lisen Cummings
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Subscribe to this newsletter!
An email version
of F. X. Browne, Inc.'s Sustainable Environments 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
Engineers – Planners – Scientists
34 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
For a printer
friendly version of the newsletter, click here.
F. X. Browne, Inc. Sustainable Environments by F. X. Browne, Inc. is licensed under a
Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 United States License.
Clipart from Microsoft
Office Online.
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