Editors Note: As you gaze out over your favorite lake or water body while watching our nation honored with fireworks this July 4, please take a moment to appreciate its unique features. From hidden cove to blooming shoreline to sparkling fetch, every lake or river is special in its own way. On behalf of all of us at F. X. Browne, Inc., have a safe and happy holiday! Topic of the Month
Beyond the SALDO: Smart Growth and the Developing Watershed By Rebecca Buerkett and Jason Smith
The long-term protection of watersheds in rapidly developing areas depends primarily on the abilities of municipalities, watershed organizations, and various other stakeholder groups to guide the location, amount, and type of new growth in the watershed. More…
Policy Update
New Tools and Publications
UN Publishes Eye-Opening Book The dramatic and, in some cases, damaging environmental changes sweeping planet Earth are brought into sharp focus in a new atlas launched to mark World Environment Day (WED). Produced by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), One Planet Many People: Atlas of our Changing Environment compares and contrasts spectacular satellite images of the past few decades with contemporary ones, some of which have never been seen before. The huge growth of greenhouses in southern Spain, the rapid rise of shrimp farming in Asia and Latin America and the emergence of a giant, shadow puppet-shaped peninsula at the mouth of the Yellow River are among a string of curious and surprising changes seen from space. They sit beside the more conventional, but no less dramatic images of rain forest deforestation in Paraguay and Brazil, rapid oil and gas development in Wyoming, forest fires across sub-Saharan Africa and the retreat of glaciers and ice in polar and mountain areas. http://www.unep.org/Documents.Multilingual/Default.asp?DocumentID=434&ArticleID=4806&l=en
Philadelphia RiverCast Provides Recreational Usage Advice The Philadelphia Water Department’s new online system, Philly RiverCast answers some of the most frequently asked questions about recreating in the Schuylkill River, the river’s water quality and related health concerns, as well as why the water quality of a river changes. RiverCast provides a forecast of water quality that predicts potential levels of pathogens in the Schuylkill River between Flat Rock Dam and the Fairmount Dam (between Manayunk and Boathouse Row). RiverCast uses an easy to follow color-coded system that designates the suitability of the river’s water. http://www.phillyrivercast.org
Riparian Buffer Fact Sheets Online The Rural Technology Initiative at Washington State University offers several online publications that focus on watershed health. They include: The Impact of Riparian Forest Management on Shade Production, The Impact of Riparian Forest Management on Large Woody Debris Recruitment Potential, and An Examination of the Potential for Riparian Buffers on Agricultural Lands to Augment Farm Incomes, Increase Hardwood Inventories, and Protect Streams. http://www.ruraltech.org/pubs/fact_sheets/
Article: Low-Impact Development Pays Off The May 2005 Issue of the EPA’s Nonpoint Source News-Notes includes a great article on the economic benefits of Low-Impact Development (LID). The article discusses how LID techniques compare to traditional stormwater management techniques. Several case studies are discussed. “Estimates from pilot projects and case studies suggest that LID projects can be completed at a cost reduction of 25 to 30 percent over conventionally developed projects. The need for costly stormwater ponds, drainage pipes, curbs and gutters, and wide streets is eliminated or dramatically reduced, which usually more than offsets the cost of relatively less expensive LID features such as rain gardens, cisterns, and permeable surfaces.” http://www.epa.gov/owow/info/NewsNotes/issue75/75issue.pdf
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