Quittapahilla Watershed Association
610 E. Walnut St.
Annville, PA 17003

Contact:
David Lasky
(717) 867-4837
(717) 867-6075 (fax)
lasky@lvc.edu

Environmental Results:

35,566 feet of streambank fencing installed.

40,066 feet of riparian buffer planted.

Half a ton of trash removed from streambanks.

3,000 feet of streambank stabilized.

Protection & Restoration
Quittapahilla Watershed Association

It Takes a Community to Restore a Watershed

Volunteers and partner organizations play important roles in the success of the Quittapahilla Watershed Association's restoration activities. In fact, community members of all ages from Girl Scout troops and local schools to friends from the Doc Fritchey Chapter of Trout Unlimited are joining forces to protect and improve the quality of the watershed. Also lending manpower and expertise are the Pennsylvania Air National Guard, Rotary Clubs and Carmeuse Limestone of Pennsylvania.

Collectively, the Quittapahilla Watershed Association is working toward removing Quittapahilla Creek and its tributaries from DEP's list of impaired streams. To accomplish this goal, the group has implemented streambank fencing projects, riparian buffer plantings, streambank stabilization, stream clean-ups and educational outreach.

With the help of 18 local farms, the Quittapahilla Watershed Association has completed more than 35,500 feet of streambank fencing and 40,000 feet of riparian buffer planting since April 1999. During this period, the association also conducted stream clean-ups, where 55 volunteers removed more than half a ton of trash and stabilized more than 3,000 feet of streambank. To assess the impact of protection and restoration activities on the watershed, the association uses water chemistry testing and macroinvertebrate studies.

Currently, the association is using a $14,000 grant from the Department of Community and Economic Development to develop an educational wetland. Four local school districts and Lebanon Valley College also are involved in the project.

"This project is moving at a remarkable rate, and the Quittapahilla Watershed Association and its partners deserve a lot of credit. The project is significantly reducing non-point pollution and reducing the amount of sediment entering the waterways. We have already seen rapid and dramatic changes in the streams."
David Putnam
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
State Coordinator for Pennsylvania Partners
for Fish and Wildlife Program