THE CONEWAGO CREEK INITIATIVE a Model for Community Watershed Engagement

THE CONEWAGO CREEK INITIATIVE A model for community watershed engagement Matt Royer Director, Agriculture & Environment Center Penn State College of Agricultural Sciences (814) 863-8756, [email protected] Conewago Creek Timeline “The Stars Align” (M Hubler) Photo by DCCD Conewago TCCCA DCCD’s First Initiative NFWF Founded 319 Grant Grant to PSU 2002 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 Conewago TCCCA USDA WIP Hershey Showcase Finalized Meadows Watershed 319 Grant Designation Photo by NRCS Conewago Creek Initiative The Partnership Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay Red Barn Consulting Aquatic Resource Restoration Co. RGS Associates Capital Area RC&D South Londonderry Township Chesapeake Bay Foundation Stroud Water Research Center Chesapeake Commons Susquehanna River Basin Commission Dauphin County Conservation District Tetra Tech Elizabethtown Area Water Authority Tri-County Conewago Creek Association Elizabethtown College USDA Agriculture Research Service Lancaster County Conservation District USDA NRCS LandStudies, Inc. US Fish and Wildlife Service Lebanon County Conservation District US Geologic Survey Londonderry Township Viable Industries, LLC Lower Dauphin High School Wild Resources, Inc. Milton Hershey School ZedX, Inc. PA DEP Penn State Public Media Penn State University Conewago Creek Initiative Organizational Structure Project Advisory Team (PAT) Stewardship Envt’l Markets Monitoring Development BMP Team Non Ag Team Team Team Team Staff support provided by Penn State Agriculture and Environment Center • Project Coordinator (M. Royer) • Assistant Project Coordinator (K. Kyler) • Student Interns Conewago Initiative Our Approach Place People Practices Impact People • Over 100 residents engaged to create a vision for the watershed • CCDs: Letters to farmers, farmer meetings, farm surveys • Landowner survey (K. Brasier, PSU) People • Over 40 community events engaging 1,300 participants • 135 “Stream Team” volunteers trained, 3,400 youth involved • Website (conewagoinitiative.net), e-newsletter, Facebook Place • Communicating value of ecosystem services: Stories from the Conewago Place Place • Identifying environmental market opportunities (12 nutrient trading assessments) Practices Conservation Planning Practices BMP Implementation • Over 7,000 trees planted • 60 acres riparian buffers restored • 1,920 acres of conservation tillage • 183 acres of cover crops • 26,000 feet of fencing • 4,700 feet of stream bank restoration • 31,850 feet of terraces • 5,475 feet of diversions Practices BMP Implementation Rates Practices Stormwater Program • SW/urban assessment • Developed cost share program • 22 stormwater plans • 14 stormwater BMPs implemented Practices Municipal Outreach Program • Conservation Toolbox for Municipalities created • Londonderry Township: developed customized toolbox Impact • Comprehensive monitoring plan – 13 stations (2 USGS gage stations) – Water chemistry bimonthy – Macros every 3 years – Fish every 3 years Impact • Two USGS gage stations Impact • Visual assessments: “F.I.S.H.” Impact Impact • Visual assessments: Hershey Meadows Impact HM Fish Sampling Macroinvertebrate Sampling (IBI Scores) Visit us on the web at: www.conewagoinitiative.net Watch A Conewago Story at: www.conewagoinitiative.net Funding for the Conewago Creek Initiative provided by: National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, Foundation for Pennsylvania Watersheds, and our many Initiative partners .

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RESTORATION PLAN Conewago Creek
Conewago Creek Dauphin, Lancaster and Lebanon Counties Pennsylvania May 2006 Tri-County Conewago Creek Association P.O. Box 107 Elizabethtown, PA 17022 [email protected] UTH www.conewagocreek.netU RESTORATION PLAN Prepared by: RETTEW Associates, Inc. 3020 Columbia Ave. Lancaster, PA 17603 3 ____________________________________________________ ConewagoU Creek Restoration Plan May 2006 ____________________________________________________ This plan was developed for use by the Tri-County Conewago Creek Association. “A nonprofit volunteer organization committed to monitoring, preserving, enhancing and promoting the Conewago Creek Watershed through education, community involvement and watershed improvement projects.” This plan was developed with technical and financial support of the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection and the United States Environmental Protection Agency through the section 319 program under the federal Clean Water Act. This plan was prepared by RETTEW Associates, Inc. 4 TABLEU OF CONTENTS PageU I. Introduction ------------------------------------------------------------------------- 3 II. Background ------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4 III. Data Collection ---------------------------------------------------------------- 10 IV. Modeling ------------------------------------------------------------------------- 13 V. Results ------------------------------------------------------------------------- 14 VI. Restoration Recommendations ----------------------------------------------
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Conewago Creek Watershed York and Adams Counties
01/09/01 INCOMPLETE DRAFT DEP Bureau of Watershed Management DO NOT COPY FOR PUBLIC Watershed Restoration Action Strategy (WRAS) State Water Plan Subbasin 07F (West) Conewago Creek Watershed York and Adams Counties Introduction The 510 square mile Subbasin 07F consists of the West Conewago Creek watershed in York and Adams Counties, which enters the west side of the Susquehanna River at York Haven. Major tributaries include Bermudian Creek, South Branch Conewago Creek, Little Conewago Creek, and Opossum Creek. A total of 903 streams flow for 1104 miles through the subbasin. The subbasin is included in HUC Area 2050306, Lower Susquehanna River a Category I, FY99/2000 Priority watershed in the Unified Watershed Assessment. Geology/Soils The geology of the subbasin is complex. The majority of the watershed is in the Northern Piedmont Ecoregion. The Triassic Lowlands (64a) consisting of sandstone, red shale, and siltstone of the Gettysburg and New Oxford Formations are interspersed throughout the watershed with the Diabase and Conglomerate Uplands (64b) consisting of Triassic/Jurassic diabase and argillite. 64a is an area of low rolling terrain with broad valleys and isolated hills. The soils derived from these rocks are generally less fertile than those derived from Piedmont limestone rocks but are more fertile than those derived from Piedmont igneous and metamorphic rocks. The sandstone and shale of the Gettysburg and New Oxford Formations are poorly cemented and have good porosity and permeability. These soils generally have moderate to high infiltration rates and yield a good supply of groundwater. The red Triassic sandstone is quarried for use as brick and stone building blocks.
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Conewago Creek Watershed Implementation Plan Update
Conewago Creek Watershed Implementation Plan Update Plan Sponsors: Tri-County Conewago Creek Association Report Prepared by: January 2021 Contents Figures ......................................................................................................................................................... ii Tables .......................................................................................................................................................... iii Acronyms and Abbreviations .................................................................................................................... v Units of Measure ......................................................................................................................................... v 1. Introduction and Project Background ......................................................................................... 1 1.1 Previous Watershed Planning in the Conewago Creek Watershed ............................................. 1 1.2 Clean Water Act Section 319 Eligibility ......................................................................................... 3 2. Watershed Description .................................................................................................................. 4 2.1 Land use ........................................................................................................................................ 5 2.2 Soils ..............................................................................................................................................
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Wild Trout Waters (Natural Reproduction) - September 2021
Pennsylvania Wild Trout Waters (Natural Reproduction) - September 2021 Length County of Mouth Water Trib To Wild Trout Limits Lower Limit Lat Lower Limit Lon (miles) Adams Birch Run Long Pine Run Reservoir Headwaters to Mouth 39.950279 -77.444443 3.82 Adams Hayes Run East Branch Antietam Creek Headwaters to Mouth 39.815808 -77.458243 2.18 Adams Hosack Run Conococheague Creek Headwaters to Mouth 39.914780 -77.467522 2.90 Adams Knob Run Birch Run Headwaters to Mouth 39.950970 -77.444183 1.82 Adams Latimore Creek Bermudian Creek Headwaters to Mouth 40.003613 -77.061386 7.00 Adams Little Marsh Creek Marsh Creek Headwaters dnst to T-315 39.842220 -77.372780 3.80 Adams Long Pine Run Conococheague Creek Headwaters to Long Pine Run Reservoir 39.942501 -77.455559 2.13 Adams Marsh Creek Out of State Headwaters dnst to SR0030 39.853802 -77.288300 11.12 Adams McDowells Run Carbaugh Run Headwaters to Mouth 39.876610 -77.448990 1.03 Adams Opossum Creek Conewago Creek Headwaters to Mouth 39.931667 -77.185555 12.10 Adams Stillhouse Run Conococheague Creek Headwaters to Mouth 39.915470 -77.467575 1.28 Adams Toms Creek Out of State Headwaters to Miney Branch 39.736532 -77.369041 8.95 Adams UNT to Little Marsh Creek (RM 4.86) Little Marsh Creek Headwaters to Orchard Road 39.876125 -77.384117 1.31 Allegheny Allegheny River Ohio River Headwater dnst to conf Reed Run 41.751389 -78.107498 21.80 Allegheny Kilbuck Run Ohio River Headwaters to UNT at RM 1.25 40.516388 -80.131668 5.17 Allegheny Little Sewickley Creek Ohio River Headwaters to Mouth 40.554253 -80.206802
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Appendix – Priority Brook Trout Subwatersheds Within the Chesapeake Bay Watershed
Appendix – Priority Brook Trout Subwatersheds within the Chesapeake Bay Watershed Appendix Table I. Subwatersheds within the Chesapeake Bay watershed that have a priority score ≥ 0.79. HUC 12 Priority HUC 12 Code HUC 12 Name Score Classification 020501060202 Millstone Creek-Schrader Creek 0.86 Intact 020501061302 Upper Bowman Creek 0.87 Intact 020501070401 Little Nescopeck Creek-Nescopeck Creek 0.83 Intact 020501070501 Headwaters Huntington Creek 0.97 Intact 020501070502 Kitchen Creek 0.92 Intact 020501070701 East Branch Fishing Creek 0.86 Intact 020501070702 West Branch Fishing Creek 0.98 Intact 020502010504 Cold Stream 0.89 Intact 020502010505 Sixmile Run 0.94 Reduced 020502010602 Gifford Run-Mosquito Creek 0.88 Reduced 020502010702 Trout Run 0.88 Intact 020502010704 Deer Creek 0.87 Reduced 020502010710 Sterling Run 0.91 Reduced 020502010711 Birch Island Run 1.24 Intact 020502010712 Lower Three Runs-West Branch Susquehanna River 0.99 Intact 020502020102 Sinnemahoning Portage Creek-Driftwood Branch Sinnemahoning Creek 1.03 Intact 020502020203 North Creek 1.06 Reduced 020502020204 West Creek 1.19 Intact 020502020205 Hunts Run 0.99 Intact 020502020206 Sterling Run 1.15 Reduced 020502020301 Upper Bennett Branch Sinnemahoning Creek 1.07 Intact 020502020302 Kersey Run 0.84 Intact 020502020303 Laurel Run 0.93 Reduced 020502020306 Spring Run 1.13 Intact 020502020310 Hicks Run 0.94 Reduced 020502020311 Mix Run 1.19 Intact 020502020312 Lower Bennett Branch Sinnemahoning Creek 1.13 Intact 020502020403 Upper First Fork Sinnemahoning Creek 0.96
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Final Report
TABLE OF CONTENTS 1.0 INTRODUCTION AND PURPOSE ................................................................................. 1 2.0 BACKGROUND INFORMATION ................................................................................... 2 3.0 DESCRIPTION OF WATERSHED .................................................................................. 3 3.1 Relationship Between Recharge and Geologic Setting .......................................... 3 4.0 APPLICATION OF USGS HYDROGEOLOGIC MODEL .............................................. 5 4.1 Discussion of Hydrogeologic Units ....................................................................... 5 4.2 Calculation of Recharge ......................................................................................... 8 5.0 COMPARISON OF CALCULATED BASE FLOW WITH STREAM FLOW DATA ... 9 5.1 Comparison with Longer-Term Stream Gage Records .......................................... 9 5.2 Comparison with More Recent Stream Gage Records ........................................ 10 5.3 Comparison with StreamStats .............................................................................. 11 6.0 IMPERVIOUS COVER ................................................................................................... 12 7.0 CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS .......................................................... 15 7.1 Summary and Conclusions ................................................................................... 15 7.2 Recommendations ...............................................................................................
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Lancaster County Incremental Deliveredhammer a Creekgricultural Lititz Run Lancasterload of Nitro Gcountyen Per HUC12 Middle Creek
PENNSYLVANIA Lancaster County Incremental DeliveredHammer A Creekgricultural Lititz Run LancasterLoad of Nitro gCountyen per HUC12 Middle Creek Priority Watersheds Cocalico Creek/Conestoga River Little Cocalico Creek/Cocalico Creek Millers Run/Little Conestoga Creek Little Muddy Creek Upper Chickies Creek Lower Chickies Creek Muddy Creek Little Chickies Creek Upper Conestoga River Conoy Creek Middle Conestoga River Donegal Creek Headwaters Pequea Creek Hartman Run/Susquehanna River City of Lancaster Muddy Run/Mill Creek Cabin Creek/Susquehanna River Eshlemen Run/Pequea Creek West Branch Little Conestoga Creek/ Little Conestoga Creek Pine Creek Locally Generated Green Branch/Susquehanna River Valley Creek/ East Branch Ag Nitrogen Pollution Octoraro Creek Lower Conestoga River (pounds/acre/year) Climbers Run/Pequea Creek Muddy Run/ 35.00–45.00 East Branch 25.00–34.99 Fishing Creek/Susquehanna River Octoraro Creek Legend 10.00–24.99 West Branch Big Beaver Creek Octoraro Creek 5.00–9.99 Incremental Delivered Load NMap (l Createdbs/a byc rThee /Chesapeakeyr) Bay Foundation Data from USGS SPARROW Model (2011) Conowingo Creek 0.00–4.99 0.00 - 4.99 cida.usgs.gov/sparrow Tweed Creek/Octoraro Creek 5.00 - 9.99 10.00 - 24.99 25.00 - 34.99 35.00 - 45.00 Map Created by The Chesapeake Bay Foundation Data from USGS SPARROW Model (2011) http://cida.usgs.gov/sparrow PENNSYLVANIA York County Incremental Delivered Agricultural YorkLoad Countyof Nitrogen per HUC12 Priority Watersheds Hartman Run/Susquehanna River York City Cabin Creek Green Branch/Susquehanna
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Lancaster County, PA Archives
Lancaster County Archives, Pennsylvania Bridge Docket Index 1874-1923 (Quarter Sessions) Derived from original dockets within the Lancaster County Archives collection Bridge Waterway Location Court Session Docket Page Beaver Creek Quarryville April 1900 172-173 Big Beaver Creek LancasterPequea County, & Providence PANovember Archives 1882 57 Big Beaver Creek Providence & Strasburg November 1885 92-93 Big Chiques Creek Rapho & West Hempfield April 1874 3 Big Chiques Creek Rapho & West Hempfield January 1875 11 Big Chiques Creek Manheim Borough April 1877 27 Big Chiques Creek Rapho & West Hempfield April 1884 76-77 Big Chiques Creek Rapho & West Hempfield November 1885 91 Big Chiques Creek Manheim Borough & Penn January 1915 210-211 Big Conestoga Creek Caernarvon September 1913 207-209 Cocalico Creek Ephrata August 1874 6 Cocalico Creek Warwick & West Earl August 1874 7 Cocalico Creek Ephrata January 1875 14-16 Cocalico Creek East Cocalico November 1880 50 Cocalico Creek East Cocalico August 1881 52 Cocalico Creek East Cocalico January 1882 54 Cocalico Creek East Cocalico November 1885 94 Cocalico Creek East Cocalico August 1886 100 Cocalico Creek Ephrata April 1889 114-115 Cocalico Creek Ephrata January 1890 123 Cocalico Creek Ephrata August 1892 134 Cocalico Creek West Cocalico 1897 156-157 Cocalico Creek Ephrata August 1899 166 Cocalico Creek Warwick & West Earl August 1902 180-182 Cocalico Creek West Cocalico September 1908 204-206 Conestoga Creek Conestoga & Manor November 1874 8 Conestoga Creek Conestoga & Manor January 1875 10 Conestoga
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Historic Conewago Valley Tour Sign #15 - (15.0 Miles) and a Red Pennsylvania Bank Barn on Your Right
HISTORIC CONEWAGO Conewago Valley Tour Sign #10 - (10.8 miles) VALLEY TOUR Fleshman Mill Road and Bon-Ox Road After the stop sign, continue on Fleshman Mill Road through another Dear Visitor, working Adams County farm. This road has several sharp curves. At the next stop sign bear left. The road takes a sharp turn to the right, passes a We invite you to explore Adams County along the HISTORIC stone barn on the left and crosses the south branch of the Conewago Creek. CONEWAGO VALLEY TOUR, where you will discover historic sites, scenic beauty and hidden gems. Meander along Conewago Valley Tour Sign #11 - (11.5 miles) our country roads through East Cavalry Battlefield, Victorian Fleshman Mill Road and Kohler Mill Road New Oxford and Early-American East Berlin. Be sure to Just after crossing this Conewago Creek bridge, turn left onto Kohler slow down and enjoy the drive, all turns and directionals are Mill Road. The road follows the path of the creek to a large horse farm clearly marked by tour signs. where horses for harness-racing are trained on the racetrack on your left, This tour was planned for your pleasure, so relax and and then continues through a residential section of New Oxford. Continue drive carefully. We hope you discover the timeless beauty that to the intersection of Kohler Mill Road and Lincolnway West (US Rt 30) make Adams County so delightful. at the stop sign. US Rt 30 is very heavily traveled. Conewago Valley Tour Sign #12 - (12.6 miles) - Destination Gettysburg Kohler Mill Road and Lincolnway West (US Rt 30) Turn right onto Lincolnway West and you will be heading for the Here are your directions to the start of the center of New Oxford, known as “The Little Town with the Beautiful Conewago Valley Tour from Lincoln Square in Circle”.
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Conewago Creek)
Enclosure C – Description of Aquatic Habitat – Conewago Isle Campgrounds Access Drive over Mill Race (Conewago Creek) 8.A. (1-2) Describe food chain production and general habitat, including: nesting, spawning, rearing, resting, migration, feeding, escape cover, etc. Title 25, Chapter 93 of the Pennsylvania Code classifies the West Conewago Creek as a warm water fishery (WWF). The project is located in the Susquehanna River Basin. Primary energy for food chain production in a stream is based on the supply of surrounding riparian vegetation and in-stream aquatic plants (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency [USEPA] 1989). Leaf litter is essential for sustaining, shredding, and filtering macroinvertebrates and for providing nutrients to the creek. Vegetative cover around the waterways also provides cover and stabilizes the water temperature. The substrate of the stream and the degree of in-stream cover are also important to maintaining aquatic habitat. Substrate including rock and gravel with fallen and submerged wood debris and roots provide habitat for both fish and macroinvertebrates. The degree of embeddedness (i.e. the amount of fine sediment surrounding boulder, rubble, and gravel) provides suitable habitat for fish spawning and egg incubation. The project area is in a rural setting, which includes the S.R. 4051 roadway and associated bridges that traverse both the West Conewago Creek and a Mill Race. The Conewago Isle Campground is located on the island between the Mill Race and West Conewago Creek. The project area provides adequate habitat for nesting and rearing along the intact-forested riparian buffer, offering both shade and escape cover in and under the forest canopy.
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Invasive Species 8 Riparian Forest Buffers 12 Trout Unlimited’S Technical Assistance Program 14 V
Table of Contents I. Executive Summary 2 II. Overview 4 Vision Statement 4 Goals of the NPS Program 4 III. Major Accomplishments 5 IV. Highlighted Programs 6 Conservation District Watershed Specialists 6 The Nonpoint Source Management Plan 8 Invasive Species 8 Riparian Forest Buffers 12 Trout Unlimited’s Technical Assistance Program 14 V. Highlighted Projects 14 Barshinger Creek Stream Restoration (§319 Project Number 2931-I) 14 Sweitzer-Springfield Stream Restoration (§319 Project Number 1124) 15 Mill Creek Phase IV (§ 319 Project Number 1216) 16 The Upper Kishacoquillas Creek WIP Implementation (§319 Project Number 1214) 19 Fall Brook, an AMD Impaired Trib to the Tioga River 21 VII. The Future of Nonpoint Source Management in Pennsylvania 24 VIII. Appendices 26 Appendix A: Goals, Objectives, and Milestones Tracking Sheet 26 Appendix B: Qualitative Goals, Objectives, and Milestones 36 Appendix C: Description of Goals, Objectives, and Milestones 40 Appendix D: The Big Ten 59 Appendix E: Commonly Used Acronyms 83 Appendix F: Pennsylvania Nonpoint Source Management Program Funding 86 1 I. Executive Summary Federal Fiscal Year 2015 was productive and encouraging for the Nonpoint Source Management Program in Pennsylvania. During this time the most recent update to the Nonpoint Source Management Plan was approved by our partner, the Environmental Protection Agency. With the final approval of that document, the NPS program will be able to renew its focus on the work designed to address the influx of nonpoint source pollutants across the Commonwealth. The work that went into the update of this plan allowed Pennsylvania to strengthen and re-establish ties with program partners fortifying the complex but necessary partnering web.
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HISTORY the First Counties in Pennsylvania Were Established in 1681 Under a Charter Granted to William Penn by Charles II, King of England
HISTORY The first counties in Pennsylvania were established in 1681 under a charter granted to William Penn by Charles II, King of England. Settlement occurred mainly east of the Susquehanna River until the conclusion of the Indian Treaty of 1736, when the limits of Lancaster County were extended indefinitely westward. These fertile lands were soon occupied by immigrants from England, Ireland, Scotland, and Germany. BOUNDARY FORMATION It was under the authority of the Lancaster County Court that Dover Township was formed in 1743. It was formed out of old Manchester Township which was so large that it even extended into Adams County. The township's name, Dover, was apparently selected because of some Englishman's nostalgia for his earlier home in England. The shape of Dover Township is irregular with its southwestern boundary resting upon what is now Jackson and Paradise Townships. To the west lie Warrington and Washington Townships, while to the east lie West Manchester, Manchester, and Conewago Townships. Its original boundaries were not well-defined, but they included part of what is today Washington and Conewago Townships, and Dover Borough. In 1770, that area which stretches from the top of the Conewago Hills to the Big Conewago Creek, was added to Dover Township from Warrington Township. The Big Conewago Creek forms its present western boundary line. Then, in 1818, Dover residents east of the Bull Road petitioned the York County Courts to form a new township known as Conewago Township. About two-thirds of this new township came from Dover Township and one-third from Newberry Township.
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