Watershed Minutes

Watershed Minutes is a production of the Environmental Fund for Pennsylvania, (EFP), producers of the Emmy award-winning environmental television series "GreenWorks." The Watershed Minutes public service announcements project is a partnership between EFP and the Western Pennsylvania Watershed Protection Program (WPWPP), administered by John Dawes.

The WPWPP works throughout we stern Pennsylvania to administer small grants programs, and is dedicated to the preservation and restoration of our water resources and our watersheds. The programs spotlighted in the following fourteen public service announcements have all been awarded funding through the WPWPP, and so who better to talk about the successes of WPWPP, than those who have made those successes a reality through their hard work and volunteer efforts.

John Dawes — Western Pennsylvania Watershed Protection Program

For the past eight years, the Western Pennsylvania Watershed Protection Program has been providing much needed matching funds for state and federal grants for watershed restoration and preservation. To date, over two million dollars have been awarded in small grants, resulting in over $20m in project costs. The Program has a primary focus on local watershed associations likely to tackle site-specific problems, but also awards funding to regional watershed groups. The year 2001 was a significant benchmark for the WPWPP as the Program received two awards for its work: the Three Rivers Environmental Award, and the Governors Award for Watershed Stewardship.

Andy Patterson — Southern Alleghenies Conservancy

The Southern Alleghenies Conservancy is a regionally based non profit organization established to assist local organizations throughout the Southern Alleghenies region to carry out resource conservation activities which are first suggested by local communities. The Conservancy also acts as a land trust organization and accepts donations of property that owners wish to see preserved. The group cooperates with the Southern Alleghenies Resource Conservation and Development Area of the US Department of Agriculture.
The Southern Alleghenies Conservancy acts as a land trust and grant recipient / administrator throughout the six county project area which include the counties of Bedford, Blair, Cambria, Fulton, Huntingdon, and Somerset.

Jim Steward — Natural Resource Conservation Service

The mission of the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) is to provide leadership in a partnership effort to help people conserve, maintain and improve our natural resources and environment. Their ultimate vision: Harmony between people and the land.

Jeff Kraus — Pennsylvania Game Commission

For more than 100 years, the Game Commission has managed the Commonwealth's wildlife resources for all Pennsylvanians. With the help of more than 700 full-time employees and thousands of part-timers and volunteers, the agency provides a host of benefits to wildlife, state residents and visitors. Wildlife has always been an important part of Pennsylvania's cultural heritage. Every day, it touches the lives of countless Pennsylvanians and most of us consider it to be a state treasure.

Deb Nardone — Juniata Clean Water Partnership

The Juniata Clean Water Partnership (JCWP) is a regional coalition of
citizens, community groups, non-profit conservation organizations, county
planning offices, and county conservation districts. The JCWP is working to
address the environmental and natural resource issues, along with other
political and social obstacles affecting the Juniata River watershed.

Bob Hedin — Hedin Environmental Consultants

The project includes a large-scale removal of iron oxide, which has built up at this site over many decades. The intent is to clear the site of this iron, loose it to a market through the concept of Resource Recovery, rather than hauling it to a landfill. The next phase of remediation at the Lowber Site is to build a large-scale SAP system.

Ron Donlan — Southern Alleghenies Resource Conservation and Development Council

The purpose of the Southern Alleghenies Resource Conservation and
Development (RC&D) Program is to promote the conservation and use of
natural resources to improve economic conditions and enhance the quality
of life in Bedford, Blair, Cambria, Fulton, Huntingdon, and Somerset
counties. Projects that improve water quality impaired by agriculture,
abandoned mines, and other non-point sources of pollution are a very
high priority of the SARC&D. The program is determined and directed by
a council comprised of local conservation leaders and county
commissioners. The Natural Resource Conservation Service provides a
full time coordinator and part time program assistant to serve the
council.

Mike Kane — Community Foundation of the Alleghenies

The Community Foundation serves the donors and grantees in individual communities and school districts within the region. Donors may be individuals, nonprofit organizations, corporations and private foundations. Through project grants or matching funds, the Community Foundation disburses funds for the Arts, Education, Economic Development, Children and Youth, Health and Human Services, Heritage Programs, Civic Affairs, Religion, and Environmental Programs.

Tom Keller — Sewickley Creek Watershed Association

The Sewickley Creek Watershed is a 168 square mile area in southwestern Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, drained by Sewickley Creek and it's major tributaries. The watershed is a diverse area consisting of cities, boroughs, farms, and wild scenic areas. It is an area rich in history, recreational opportunities, and unfortunately significant water pollution problems.

Jason Bell — Loyalhanna Watershed Association

The Loyalhanna Watershed Association is a thirty year-old non-profit environmental organization located in Ligonier, Pennsylvania. The mission of the LWA is to protect, conserve and restore the natural resources of the Loyalhanna Creek Watershed, a 300 square mile Southwest PA watershed. The LWA focuses on land conservation and stewardship, water protection and education and outreach, all within a watershed framework. The LWA has addressed issues such as abandoned mine drainage, sewage infrastructure, land easements and agriculture best management practices, by building strong coalitions of like-minded groups and individuals.

Through various projects and outreach initiatives, the LWA encourages collaboration among all of the stakeholders of the Loyalhanna Creek Watershed. The area is rich with natural resources and amenities, and the LWA endeavors to continue and enhance this quality of life.

Len Lichvar — Southern Alleghenies Conservancy

The Southern Alleghenies Conservancy is a non government non profit corporation working on resource and culture enhancement projects in Bedford, Blair, Cambria, Fulton, Huntingdon and Somerset Counties through its administrative, land trust and technical capacities empowering local organizations to achieve their resource conservation goals.

Alice Sjolander — French Creek Project Meadville, PA

The French Creek Project is sponsored by the Pennsylvania Environmental
Council, Allegheny College, the Western PA Conservancy, and now The Nature Conservancy. Established in 1995, this cooperative initiative brings together conservationists, sportsmen, landowners, farmers, the business community, local government officials, and academic institutions in a collaborative effort to protect one of the state's premier streams, French Creek.

Brian Hill — French Creek Project Meadville, PA

The French Creek Project is sponsored by the Pennsylvania Environmental
Council, Allegheny College, the Western PA Conservancy, and now The Nature Conservancy. Established in 1995, this cooperative initiative brings together conservationists, sportsmen, landowners, farmers, the business community, local government officials, and academic institutions in a collaborative effort to protect one of the state's premier streams, French Creek.

Bev Braverman — Mountain Watershed Association

Mountain Watershed Association has been working on AMD issues in the Indian Creek watershed (137 square miles) since 1994. The group has approximately 600 members and the Board is working from a well-developed PL-566 plan, which was developed with NRCS staff. AMD has been addressed at other sites such as Sagamore through the installation of large SAPS or Successive Alkalinity Producing Systems. The Gallentine Project requires a slightly different treatment system called an APLAPS or Alkalinity Producing Limestone Activated Pond System. Following the treatment system will be a polishing or settling basin and a compost wetland. This grant leverages $285,000 in agency funding.