News & Notes October 2001

Ridge Administration Announces $4.4 Million in ‘Growing Greener’ Grants for Farm/Streamside Restoration
Grants Also Support More Than 50 Watershed Specialists

On behalf of Gov. Tom Ridge, Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) Secretary David E. Hess recently announced more than $4.4 million in “Growing Greener” grants for farm and streamside restoration projects, including the Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program (CREP), and 52 watershed specialist positions in county conservation districts.

“Through Gov. Ridge’s ‘Growing Greener’ program, we’ve built unique partnerships with communities, watershed associations, conservation districts and organizations like the Chesapeake Bay Foundation and Ducks Unlimited,” Secretary Hess said. “As a result, our watersheds are improving daily, making Pennsylvania a cleaner, healthier place to live.

“I am proud to present $4.4 million in ‘Growing Greener’ grants to help make sure farmers and communities have the tools they need to continue to improve our watersheds.”

The “Growing Greener” grants include:

• More than $1.4 million to county conservation districts to continue supporting 52 county-based watershed specialists;
  
  
• $977,628 to the Pennsylvania Association of Conservation Districts (PACD) to support the Pennsylvania Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program (CREP), an initiative to reduce runoff from farms by preserving streamside farmland;
  
  
• $1 million to the Chesapeake Bay Foundation for riparian buffer and wetland restoration in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed;and
  
  
• $1 million to Ducks Unlimited for the second phase of its statewide water quality initiative “Clean Water PA.”

Secretary Hess announced the grants on Aug. 30, 2001, during a tour of Best Management Practices (BMPs) at Stone Wood Farms in Hamilton Township, Adams County. Secretary Hess toured the farm as part of a program developed with the Pennsylvania Farm Bureau to help DEP address environmental challenges on farms. The program, called the Summer Farm Tour, identifies ways for farmers to use their financial resources to fix problems rather than to pay legal fees and penalties.

Watershed specialists help local groups protect and improve their watersheds; provide expert advice to farmers and landowners for conservation practices; work with DEP regional watershed coordinators on all proposals and projects; and help support local “Growing Greener” projects in their counties.

CREP is a federal program through which the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) partners with states to rent highly erodible agricultural land to reduce sediment or nutrient runoff. USDA provides 50 percent of the funds necessary to install conservation measures such as filter strips, permanent vegetative cover or riparian buffers and requires states to provide matching dollars to participate in CREP.

According to USDA estimates, enrolling 100,000 acres of farmland in CREP could reduce nitrogen and phosphorus runoff by more than 1.6 million pounds per year.

PACD has received a total of $1.7 million for distribution to farmers statewide for eligible costs of conservation practices installed under CREP. Through these grant awards, “Growing Greener” has contributed to the installation of agricultural BMPs on more than 800 farms totaling 19,000 acres.

Page 4>