Northampton Notes a Quarterly Newsletter of the Northampton County Conservation District Volume # 16 Spring 2016 Issue # 2

Northampton Notes A Quarterly Newsletter of the Northampton County Conservation District Volume # 16 Spring 2016 Issue # 2

2016 Envirothon: Dedicated in Memory of Chryss Buchman This year’s 19th annual Northampton County Envirothon was dedicated to our beloved District Manager, Chryss Buchman, whose sudden passing in April has saddened us all. The competition was held on April 28, 2016 at Louise Moore Park. Chryss had been involved with the Envirothon competition for 25 years, both in Lehigh and Northampton Counties; it was a program that she truly believed in. She was a strong leader and caring person but most of all a great friend and she will be greatly missed. All at- tendees of the 2016 Northampton County Envirothon were asked to wear a green ribbon in remembrance of Chryss, to show their support to the staff, as well as Chryss’ family. A few members of Chryss’ family were able to join us for the awards ceremony where the District presented a commemorative award. District staff also prepared a memorial display which incorporated pictures showing Chryss in her element with the Conservation District, including Erosion and Sedimentation control field inspections, educational programs, teacher workshops, and Envirothons. Bangor Area High School’s Team #Maroon again swept the 2016 Memorial display prepared by NCCD staff competition and finished first at the event! The Team — Christian Sieg- fried, Michael Reduzzi, Matt Lucas, Madison Collins, Noah Horne — took the 1st place award by obtaining the highest cumulative score of the day. Bangor Area High School’s Team #White placed second, and Freedom High School Team #1 placed third. Each winning team was awarded a plaque, medals and other prizes. The Envirothon is an environmental competition for students in grades 9 through 12 that focuses on five environmental and natural resource categories: Wildlife, Forestry, Soils and Land Use, Aquatic Ecology and a current environmental issue. The current issue for 2016 was Invasive Species: A Challenge to the Environment, Economy and Society. This year, seven schools again competed with a total of 13 teams. Competing schools included Bangor Area High School, Bethlehem Catholic High School, Freedom High School, Moravian Academy, Nazareth Area High School, Northampton Area High School and Pen Argyl Area High School. The competition, which exposes students and their teachers to study materials and experiences beyond the classroom, included written exams and hands-on activities that were developed by soil scientists, aquatic biologists, foresters, wildlife managers and natural resource professionals. Following the testing, Jeff Mucklin, of Nurture Nature Center, provided an educational presentation on “Creative Solutions to Environmental Challenges” for the participants. In memory of our beloved manager, Chryss Buchman, the Dis- trict presented a new award “The Chryss Buchman Memorial Current Issue Award” to Northampton Area High School Team #1 for having highest non- placing score at the Current Issue Station. Bangor Area High School Team #Maroon represented Northampton County at the Pennsylvania Envirothon on May 24 and 25, at Susquehanna Bangor Area High School Team Maroon University and Camp Mount Luther where sixty-five teams of high school Envirothon winners students competed at this year’s event. Our team placed 15th overall with a score of 418.3 out of a possible 600. The District is so proud of our team, great job guys! Continued on Page 3

Hydromania 2016 On May 12, 2016 District staff members Nathan Prichard and Kristina Maurer, along with volunteers Helen Maurella and Ryan Heaney, attended the 2016 Hydromania. The event held by the Lehigh Valley Water Suppliers Inc., hosted more than 1,150 3rd and 4th graders with the intent of teaching them about their local watershed through crafts, lessons and activities. Various Lehigh and Northampton County agencies were invited to attend and run an event of their choice. The NCCD team held an erosion relay race to teach the children about weathering, erosion, and deposition. The children were able to act as river water, moving stones from one side of the course to the other. The event and activity were a huge success! Upcoming Act 48 Teacher Workshop The NCCD will be offering an Act 48 continuing education workshop for teachers titled: “Schoolyard and Backyard Conservation: What Can You Do?” The workshop will be held at the NCCD Office in Nazareth on Thursday, October 20, 2016 from 8:00AM to 4:00PM and will provide teachers with seven Professional Development Activity Hours. The workshop will aim to increase awareness of and concern for water quality issues and to encourage application of simple “on the ground” practices at the individual level to protect valuable surface and ground waters. The program will introduce local educators to stormwater management, non-point source pollution control, and environmental conservation practices on an individual level. Information, literature and techniques, delivered through hand-on activities, will be provided to the educators to be replicated in their classrooms for students’ awareness and implementation in their own schoolyards and backyards. It should be a fun-filled, educational day. Hope you can join us in October. The workshop flyer will be going out in September for registration, however, please feel free to call and pre- register to reserve your seat now if you are interested. The class size is restricted to twenty educators. Financial and other support for this project is provided by the Pennsylvania Association of Conservation Dis- tricts, Inc. through a grant from the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection under Section 319 of the Clean Water Act, administered by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Conservation District Partners with WCLV & Master Watershed Stewards for Upcoming Projects The Conservation District is partnering with the Watershed Coalition of the Lehigh Valley (WCLV) and the Penn State Extension Master Watershed Steward program on upcoming rain garden construction and signage projects. Also partnering on these efforts are Plainfield Township, Pen Argyl Borough, and the Appalachian Mountain Club. These projects will be partially funded by a grant awarded to WCLV by the Delaware and Lehigh National Heritage Corridor mini-grant program. Rain gardens are currently being planned and designed for Plainfield Township’s municipal building, as well as Pen Argyl’s borough hall. The WCLV and the conservation district’s watershed specialist are working with both municipalities to design gardens that will not only be practical improvements to the buildings, but also serve as demonstration models of best management practices to members of the public. The municipalities will be assisting in construction, and design and maintenance will be provided by Master Watershed Stewards with support from NCCD and the WCLV. Construction on these projects is planned to begin in late summer/early fall. In addition to the rain gardens, a green-roof retrofit demonstration project is planned at a location yet to be determined. These gardens are an excellent example of a naturalized method for handling stormwater. For those unfamiliar with them, a rain garden is a shallow, planted depression designed to capture runoff and help it infiltrate into the soil and transpire via vegetation. Often, a layer of gravel or other porous soil is placed underneath the garden to further increase its infiltration capacity. The gardens not only act as a stormwater management practice, but also offer an opportunity to plant native grasses, flowers, and shrubs. In addition to the rain garden and green roof projects, a moveable informational display focused on the Monocacy Creek Watershed will be developed and installed at Illick’s Mill in Bethlehem. Master Watershed Stewards will be coordi- nating with the Appalachian Mountain Club, whose regional offices are based at Illick’s Mill, and NCCD staff for design and construction. Early plans for the display are to have it include not only educational information, but also serve as a place to announce upcoming events in the watershed. Farmland Preservation Update - Submitted by Northampton County Farmland Preservation

We would like to welcome Ryan Shaw to the Farmland Preservation Team. Ryan joined the team on March 28, 2016. Ryan has an extensive background in forestry, working as a private consultant for 8 years. He graduated from Penn State with a degree in Forest Science and has a great background in many of the skills required for the Farmland Preservation Technician. Many of you had met and worked with Barbara Martucci, our former Technician. She has since moved on to a different greener pas- ture, working with our county parks department. Ryan has hit the ground running, literally, as the 2nd week he was here we began our spring inspections. So if you see us out and about, stop us to say “Hello” and introduce yourself to Ryan. Our spring 2016 Northampton County update has us currently with162 farms preserved on 14,409.07 acres. Thirteen farms are in the process from our 2015 application round, and will be closing by the end of the year. As a result of the implementation of the Township Partnership Program, an additional 3 farms will be preserved in Plainfield Township and 4 will be preserved in Moore Township. We will also be able to preserve three farms in Upper Mount Bethel Township this year and a portion of one farm locat- ed in Lower Mount Bethel Township. Therefore, the Township Partnership Program—will allow us to preserve an additional 720 acres. We had 13 qualified application for the 2016 application period. All applicants have been approached and are eligible to par- ticipation in the preservation program. Annual inspections of preserved farms are in the process of being completed. Due to several rain events this spring and a limited ground freeze this winter, many farms sustained damage from erosion. A few farms also experienced significant runoff. It is a reminder of the importance of conservation practices in controlling erosion. Heavy intense rain poses an opportunity to examine what can be done differently in the field to minimize soil erosion. Keeping sufficient cover on soil is a key erosion control practice. Also, tillage and crop management systems are critical components for reducing raindrop impact. Spring is the best time to evaluate conservation systems for their impact on improving soil and water quality since this is generally when we see the most runoff pro- ducing events. Certainly there are times when rain is so severe that there isn’t anything you can do to prevent soil loss, but there are practices that can be implemented to at least minimize the potential damage. Contact NRCS for more information on economical, erosion control practices.

Upper Mount Bethel improves drainage on National Park Drive

Upper Mount Bethel Township recently applied for and received a District administered Dirt, Gravel and Low Volume Road Program grant to improve drainage on nearly one half mile of National Park Drive. District staff and members of the Upper Mount Bethel Road crew determined that portions of National Park Drive were incised and eroded, which resulted in sedimentation in the Slateford Creek watershed, a stream classified as Exceptional Value by the state of Pennsylvania. The sections were improved by uti- lizing proven best management practices such as raising the road profile and adding additional cross pipes. Coarse stone was added to the incised sections in order to raise the road above the surrounding area, where possible, to allow water to uniformly shed off the road instead of concentrating the water (and sediments) and discharging it directly to the creek tributaries. The Township will then use their own funds to apply a suitable driving surface on top of the filled sections. The Upper Mount Bethel Township road crew has embraced these best management practices, just a few of which they learned by attending the grant program required Environmentally Sensitive Mainte- nance training offered by Penn State. These road improvements will help with future maintenance costs and improve water quality, a win-win situation.

2016 Envirothon—continued from page 1 The Conservation District is grateful to the sponsors and donors whose generous contributions make the annual Envirothon program possible and a successful, educational and fun event for all participants. Along with the Northampton County Conservation District, Gold Level Sponsors for 2016 included: Northampton County Division of Parks & Recreation, Pennsylvania Envirothon, Inc., J.G. Petrucci Company, Inc., Hanover Engineering Associates, Inc., Charles Chrin Companies, Commerce Construction Com- pany, LP, and Majestic Reality Company. Silver Level Sponsors included: The Pidcock Company, Base Engineering, Inc., Keystone Civil Engineers & Surveyors, Northstar, Ott consulting, PA American Water, and Liberty Engineering. Bronze Level Sponsors included: Giant Food Stores, Inc. and Wegmans Food Market in Nazareth. We would also like to thank all the agency representatives and the volunteers who provided us assistance including those from PA Game Commission, PA Fish and Boat Commission, Penn State Extension, PA DCNR Bureau of Forestry, Northampton County Farmland Preservation, Northampton County Division of Parks and Recreation, Northampton County Administration, PA DEP, Schlouch Inc., Hanover Engineering, Commerce Construction Company, LLC, and J.G. Petrucci. The District would like to congratulate all teams that competed in this year’s Envirothon event. Chryss would have been proud of each and every one of you. Thank you for making this year’s event extra special. Northampton County Conservation District Northampton Notes Gracedale GreystoneComplex, GreystoneBuilding Building Nazareth,14 Gracedale PA 18064 Avenue-9211 Nazareth, PA 18064-9211 RETURN SERVICES REQUESTED RETURN SERVICE REQUESTED

Northampton County Conservation District Greystone Building 14 Gracedale Avenue Nazareth, PA 18064-9211

Phone: (610) 829-6276 FAX: (610) 746-1980 E-Mail: [email protected] Web address: www.northamptoncd.org

Conservation District office hours are Monday through Friday, 8 am to 4 pm

DISTRICT DIRECTORS ASSOCIATE DIRECTORS DISTRICT STAFF Donald Mack, Chairman James Clause Sharon Pletchan, Acting Manager Brian Fulmer Jeffrey Keifer James Lawrence, E&S Technician Joel Geiger Helen Maurella Amy Seidel, E&S Technician Lynn Stauffer John Mauser Kristina Maurer, E&S Technician Theodore Veresink Bruce Pysher Vacant, E&S Technician Margaret Ferraro, County Council Representative Nathan Pritchard, Watershed Spec./Ag. Technician Vacant, Farmer Director Wendy McRoberts, Clerical Technician

District Board meetings are open to the public and are held on the second Tuesday of each month at 7:30 pm on the second floor of the Greystone Building.