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Success Stories
Opequon Watershed Project Team
Martinsburg, WV
Lou Scavinsky plunged into purchasing idyllic farmlands with ponds and lakes out of an adolescent interest in scuba diving. He took to planting trees to beautify the properties and then resold them. His current 10-acre home along the Opequon Creek in West Virginia contains 3,000 trees of 52 different varieties. When he received a letter from the Opequon Creek Project Team one day, he turned his personal interest into community action.
Scavinsky, now Vice-President of OCPT, works with a core group of eight volunteers to combat the livestock intrusions, erosion, sedimentation, and wastewater treatment runoff that have impaired the 30 miles of Opequon Creek in Berkeley and Jefferson counties. The stream contains the highest levels of nitrogen and phosphorus of any West Virginia Potomac-based watershed. Since 2005, the OCPT has worked to change those numbers.
The OCPT has completed a stream reconstruction program in partnership with the Canaan Valley Institute, the DEP, and DNR groups. They identified major erosion areas along farmers' properties on the Mill Creek tributary to create a 1,000 foot natural riparian buffer against cows and sedimentation. In December 2009, they successfully planted hundreds of dogwood and willow stakes along the river. This past summer their volunteers completed the project by planting 400 bare root trees along the stream bank. "Basically there is no cost to these farmers because we'll fence and we'll plant and we'll provide hard cattle crossings," said Scavinsky, who currently serves as the group's vice-president.
OCPT has also organized thirteen dry and wet clean-ups since 2005. Most recently, eighteen volunteers in kayaks scoured the river for errant refuse. In just a four-mile stretch, OCPT collected 20 bags of assorted bottles and cans and 36 tires. Six couches remained stuck in the area. "The mentality in the eastern panhandle hasn't changed. The folks think the stream is a repository for things that they don't want. We're trying through education to change that mentality," Scavinsky emphasized.
In addition to reaching out to waterfront property owners through mailings and discussions at Homeowners' Association meetings, OCPT hosts annual "Fun Floats" to engage residents along the river. On September 18, 2010, fifty participants kayaked and canoed down two miles of the Opequon. "Some of the people who attend our events, they always stop by and say, 'We know what you do and we are thankful." noted Scavinsky.
The group has also built three public rain gardens. Their partnership with the local Master Gardeners Group allowed them to build two rain gardens at the Judicial Center in downtown Martinsburg. They have also constructed one at the Public Service Water District Building.
Additionally, OCPT has partnered with the local Boy Scout troop, Faith Christian Academy high school, and the Martinsburg Journal newspaper to promote events and projects. "My picture is in the paper more than any other local politician," said Scavinsky. More information on OCPT's projects and upcoming events can be found on their website.
Trout Unlimited
Lock Haven, PA
Press released provided by Trout Unlimited
A recent study conducted by Trout Unlimited in partnership with the DEP, the Susquehanna River Basin Commission, and the USGS has shown a marked improvement in the overall health of the West Branch Susquehanna River and its tributaries over the past 25 years. The watershed area contains over 1,200 miles of impaired streams and 36,000 acres of abandoned mine land in Pennsylvania. This study marked the first comprehensive look at the whole west branch.
The study found significant water quality improvements and benthic levels from the river's headwaters in Cambria County to Lock Haven, PA, a distance of over 250 miles. The Karthaus, PA, the river contained 72% less iron and 87% less aluminum than it did in the mid-1980s. The fish populations near Hyner, PA have improved by more than 3,000 percent compared to 1999 populations.
Passive and active remediation projects along the impaired stream sections and abandoned mine lands have attributed to these improvements. "This research shows that in just a short time, the river's health is improving," said Amy Wolfe, director of TU's Eastern abandoned mine program. "We still have a long way to go to repair the damage from historic coal mining, but the tremendous effort at the state and local levels to restore the West Branch Susquehanna watershed is clearly paying off." Learn more.
