Riparian forest restoration started in earnest in the Chesapeake watershed about 1996. On this page, we have begun to weave together the stories of how partners have restored over 9,500 miles of riparian forest since that time.
The Healthy Forests Healthy Waters program offers private landowners in Maryland a cost-free opportunity to establish new woodland cover on their property. Maryland Forest Service staff work with landowners to develop personalized tree planting plans Experienced service providers plant the trees and maintain the trees for three years Landowners agree to maintain tree cover for … Read More
The Creek ReLeaf program is helping to plant trees and improve water quality in Frederick County, Maryland. Frederick County’s Office of Sustainability and Environmental Resources started the Creek Re-Leaf program in 2017 as a way to improve water quality and meet pollution reduction requirements of the County’s MS4 permit requirements under the federal Clean Water … Read More
Roberta Ingram and her husband, Albert Deagazio, decided to enroll a total of 4.1 acres of their farmland in Chestertown, Maryland, into the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP). In 2001, 2.1 acres were converted into a runoff pond surrounded by grasses, and in 2003, 2 acres were converted into a riparian forest buffer consisting of native trees and grasses. They first … Read More
Bobby Whitescarver, a longtime USDA Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS) guru, retired in 2011 to start a conservation consulting service, Whitescarver Natural Resources Management. Bobby is a lifetime farmer in Swoope, Virginia, and has worked tirelessly with Virginia’s farmers and landowners to enroll buffer acres in the CREP program. Today, Bobby has been involved with over … Read More
In 2014, the Upper Susquehanna Coalition (USC) awarded $280,000 to the Tioga County Soil and Water Conservation District as part of the Susquehanna Watershed Riparian Buffer Enhancement Program. The grant aimed to increase the acres of riparian forest buffers in the Upper Susquehanna watersheds to meet the goal of 475 buffer acres per year. Funds were used … Read More
The CREP Program has partnered with a number of Soil and Water Conservation Districts in Virginia to provide incentives for farmers to plant buffers on their property.
The Upper Susquehanna Coalition (USC) Buffer Program helps landowners fund and maintain valuable forest buffer projects in the Upper Susquehanna Watershed.
The Upper Penns Creek Watershed is 240 square miles in size and includes approximately 30 linear miles of the Penns Creek stream channel and numerous tributaries including Sinking Creek, Elk Creek, and Pine Creek.
