ClearWater Awarded State Grant to Improve Water Quality

ClearWater Conservancy has been awarded an $80,000 grant from the state Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, Rep. Mike Hanna announced Tuesday.

The grant is one of 13 awarded by DCNR, totaling $790,000, to plant trees to act as buffers along Pennsylvania streams.

“Streamside forest buffers provide a wide range of benefits to both the environment, and to landowners, including better water quality, habitat for pollinators that can assist with crop production, and increased opportunities for recreational activities,” DCNR Secretary Cindy Adams Dunn said in a statement.

The funding for ClearWater will be used for 28 acres of buffers along creeks and streams in the Juniata and Susquehanna watersheds in Centre and Huntingdon counties.

Forest buffers provide barriers between polluting landscapes and receiving waterways, according to a news release. Streamside trees and shrubs, if properly planted and maintained, can filter runoff from sediments and fertilizers applied to lawns and crops, control erosion, slow stormwater runoff, cool stream temperatures and improve fish habitat.

‘This funding will provide sustainable income for landowners through what DCNR calls a multi-functional buffer option,” Hanna said in the release. “This is great news for our waterways and for enhancement of fish habitat in our region.” 

The grant is administered through the Community Conservation Partnerships Program with money from the Keystone Fund, which is generated from a portion of the realty transfer tax, and the Environmental Stewardship Fund, which receives funding from landfill tipping fees.

Founded in 1980, the State College-based ClearWater Conservancy is a land trust dedicated to promoting conservation and restoration of natural resources in central Pennsylvania through land conservation, water resources protection and environmental outreach.