Schuylkill Conservation District

Contact Information

Background:

The Schuylkill Conservation District, located in the lower anthracite field of Pennsylvania, serves all watersheds of Schuylkill County with the mission to “To protect, enhance, restore, and promote the responsible use of the county’s natural resources for future generations by partnering, coordinating, and fostering cooperation.”  This is accomplished with the assistance of public agencies, private groups, and individuals.  The district works with six AMD impacted watershed groups including the Schuylkill Headwaters Association, Catawissa Creek Restoration Association, Mahanoy Creek Watershed Association, Northern Swatara Creek Watershed Association, Tri-Valley Watershed Association, and the Wiconisco Creek Restoration Association.  Water quality has been negatively impacted by various kinds of non-point source (NPS) pollution including Abandoned Mine Drainage, the result of over 100 years of resource extraction in the county.

Our OSM/VISTA is assisting in supporting the watershed groups of the county to thrive through financial and infrastructural support that builds the member-base and capacity to complete relevant projects to improve their watersheds.  The OSM/VISTA is involved in grant writing, water sampling, treatment system maintenance, Bear Creek Festival outreach activities, project development, newsletter preparation, press release writing, watershed meetings, and environmental education.

Goals and Accomplishments of OSM/VISTA:

Project Development and Implementation:

• Involved in the development and implementation of three treatment system construction/maintenance projects
• Organized a steering committee for the enhancement of an existing treatment system
• Recruited more than 27 volunteers for an April plantings project to stabilize a bank above an Abandoned Mine Discharge

Community Outreach and Education:

• Preparations for Bear Creek Festival, involvement in recruiting watershed groups to have a presence at the festival, assistance with tabling kits for outreach, and preparation of demonstration tables and volunteer recruitment to run them
• Quarterly Newsletter articles
• Summer Teacher Workshop

Capacity Building/Grant Writing:

• Wrote a grant to obtain funds for computers, software, and monitoring equipment for the Schuylkill Headwaters Association
• Wrote a successful grant to obtain technical assistance with enhancement planning and implementation for an existing treatment system
• Responsible for the writing of a grant to obtain funds to support the Schuylkill Headwaters Association in acquiring an OSM/VISTA employee and to assist the Conservation District with the cost-share for the next two years of their OSM/VISTA contract

Community Revitalization:

• Worked with an economic development group to set up a tour of a local business to educate local people about the entities that are contributing to their economy
• Future plans to begin planning process needed to create a series of trails connected to abandoned mine treatment systems
• Future plans to have a stream cleanup day in late May or early June

Partnerships:

• Department of Environmental Protection (DEP)
• Bureau of Abandoned Mine Reclamation (BAMR)
• Pocono Resource Conservation & Development Council (Pocono RC & D)
• United States Geological Survey (USGS)
• Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
• Office of Surface Mining (OSM)
• Appalachian Coal Country Watershed Team (ACCWT)
• Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS)
• Farm Security Administration (FSA)
• Peasants Forever
• Pennsylvania Fish & Boat Commission
• Pennsylvania Game Commission