Buffer Project Highlights:
The Lancaster Clean Water Partners are working in Lancaster County, PA to provide clean and clear local waterways by 2040. This partnership effort has led to an increase in restoration projects across the county and inspired the Buffer Action Team to plant an urban riparian buffer at Overlook Park in Manheim Township in May 2021. Unlike the many other acres of buffers planted throughout the county each year, this one was a purposeful joint effort between more than a dozen partner organizations as a celebration of the collaborative environment in Lancaster County.
Lancaster Clean Water Partner’s Buffer Action Team planted a 2.3 acre buffer to celebrate collaboration efforts in the County.
This project, located in a highly visible location in the community, will help to significantly advance water quality in the Little Conestoga Creek watershed and beyond. Five hundred trees over 2.3 acres were planted next to the stream with the goal of fully reforesting more than 8 acres by 2022 in order to decrease urban runoff, reduce erosion, and restore the stream to its natural beauty and function. Based on the Chesapeake Bay Nutrient and Sediment Load Reduction Model, this initial 2.3 acre planting will annually filter out 59 pounds of nitrogen, 2.6 pounds of phosphorus, and 3,471 pounds of sediment.
This project is unique in that the buffer was planted by members of multiple partner organizations, including the Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay, Penn State Agriculture and Environment Center, Lancaster Clean Water Partners, TeamAg, Inc., Lancaster County Conservation District, Lancaster Conservancy, Stroud Water Research Center, Chesapeake Conservancy, Lancaster Civil Engineering Company, Working Lands Investment Partners, PA Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, Lancaster NAACP, and Chesapeake Bay Foundation.
The community will have an opportunity to observe and enjoy the buffer in this public park, while also enjoying the benefits of improved local waterways. This project was funded by the Keystone 10 Million Trees Partnership (trees), Lancaster BEST (maintenance), and US Forest Service (site prep).
For More Information:
Learn more about the Lancaster Clean Water Partners at: https://lancastercleanwaterpartners.com/
This 2.3 acre buffer is just a piece of the 6000 acre goal that the Buffer Action Team has for the County.
This post Is part of the first annual CCLC Riparian Buffer Month. For more information check out our page
