Penn State Team to Help Local Groups Reduce Pollution in Lower Susquehanna Basin

To accelerate conservation and reduce water pollution, a Penn State team composed of outreach staff and extension educators will build upon existing partnerships with organizations in the lower Susquehanna River basin. The watershed is plagued by runoff of nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorus from agriculture.

Funded by a three-year, $1 million grant from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, the team from the Penn State Agriculture and Environment Center will undertake innovative outreach efforts to extend its Community Watershed Engagement Program. The program utilizes unique watershed partnerships to increase education, outreach and adoption of conservation practices to improve water quality, according to center director Matt Royer.

The initiative will build on collaborative successes and elevate existing watershed partnerships to accelerate conservation in five adjacent watersheds in the high-priority Lower Susquehanna region, noted Royer, who also is an associate research professor in the Department of Agricultural Economics, Sociology, and Education in the College of Agricultural Sciences.

“We’ll provide resources to facilitate watershed partnerships as a venue and framework for sharing information, enhancing collaboration and increasing leads for landowner outreach,” he said. “We’ll enhance the existing partnerships and harness strengths of existing and new partners.”

With guidance from the Agriculture and Environment Center, partnerships in Conewago Creek, Chiques Creek and Conoy Creek watersheds in Lancaster, Lebanon and Dauphin counties, respectively, have established a strong track record of collaboration and success in reducing nutrient pollution, Royer explained. The existing regional partnership will expand to two adjacent watersheds — Little Conestoga in Lancaster County and Spring Creek in Dauphin and Lebanon counties — where partners are in place and interested in collaborating with Penn State to improve water quality.

“We’ll coordinate an agricultural outreach team we call the ‘muddy boots,’” Royer said. “The muddy boots team includes conservation districts, private sector ag consultants and nonprofits like Lancaster Farmland Trust. These partners and our ag outreach staff will visit farmers in the priority watersheds to discuss conservation opportunities.”


Source: psu.edu

Photo Credit: Pennsylvania State University