Preserving the natural beauty and wildness of the Wissahickon Valley for 91 years. SUMMER 2015 VOLUME 24 • NUMBER 2 A Creek in Crisis: Time for Action See p. 8 for coverage of this public meeting on the challenges facing the Wissahickon Creek and what municipalities and residents can do to improve its quality. Forbidden Drive under water during a storm in 2011. A MESSAGE from the DIRECTOR ou may notice that this issue of the Friends of the 8708 Germantown Avenue Wissahickon newsletter is twice as long as usual. In our Philadelphia, PA 19118-2717 ongoing quest to be greener, FOW has inserted our Annual Phone: (215) 247-0417 Y E-mail: [email protected] Report for 2014 into our summer newsletter. We hope to reduce mailing costs and our overall environmental footprint, while Website: www.fow.org reaching a wider audience. The Annual Report is an in-depth The mission of the Friends of the Wissahickon summation of FOW’s work during the previous year—work that is to preserve the natural beauty and would not have been completed without the support of our wildness of the Wissahickon Valley and members. We hope you will take the time to read it and stimulate public interest therein. learn more about Wissahickon Valley Park, the work of the Friends of the Wissahickon, and all that is being OFFICERS achieved by our members and volunteers in preserving Will Whetzel, President this urban forest and watershed park. Liz Werthan, Vice President, Advocacy Heidi Grunwald, Vice President, Finance This newsletter also features coverage of our Robert Harries, Vice President, Governance second conference on water quality issues in the Jeff Harbison, Treasurer Wissahickon. A Creek in Crisis: Time for Action, held Liz Werthan, Secretary on May 13, was organized in conjunction with the PAST PRESIDENTS Cindy Affleck Charles Dilks Robert A. Lukens David Pope John Rollins Edward C. Stainton While the Wissahickon Watershed is a place of extraordinary Robert Vance natural beauty and possesses a thriving ecosystem, it is in BOARD MEMBERS Christine Bamberger John Kelly jeopardy and requires care. Richard P. Brown, Jr. Martha Kennedy Tai-ming Chang Richard Kremnick Stephanie Craighead Charles Lee, Jr. Emily Daeschler Jerome Maddox David Dannenberg Chris McCausland David Pope Wissahickon Valley Watershed Association. We are grateful for their help in this effort, as Sam Finney Shirley Gracie Chris Rabb well as the support of other local and regional organizations, such as the Philadelphia Water Jeff Harbison Jean Sachs Department, the Pennsylvania Environmental Council, and Penn Future. Together, we sought Robert Harries Robert T. Vance, Jr. to educate people on the state of the Wissahickon Watershed and engage them to become David Hilton James Walker more active in protecting the watershed as citizens and as participants in its ecosystem. Nina Hoe Liz Werthan The Wissahickon Watershed, like all urban watersheds, crosses urban/suburban borders. Louise Johnston Patricia R. West On this side of the line, water quality is particularly important because of the public health Courtney Kapp Will Whetzel impact on our drinking water. Of all the urban watersheds in Philadelphia, we believe the Susan Wilmerding Wissahickon is the most beautiful. It is also one of the most heavily studied, and from these STAFF studies we know it is one of the most heavily compromised in terms of water quality. Maura McCarthy, Executive Director While it is a place of extraordinary natural beauty and possesses a thriving ecosystem, Ruffian Tittmann, Development Director it is in jeopardy and requires care. The water system itself, although better than it was Audrey Simpson, Business Manager decades ago, still has a long way to go to get where it needs to be in terms of quality. Denise Larrabee, Publications Editor We hope those who participated learned how they impact the land and creek through their Sarah Marley, Outreach Manager Henry Stroud, Project Manager actions every day and were energized to become more involved in watershed stewardship. Erin Mooney, Publicist John Holback, Volunteer Coordinator Giulia Morrone, Development and Outreach Assistant NEWSLETTER Denise Larrabee, Editor Maura McCarthy, Executive Director Dena Sher, Associate Editor Sarah West, Listings Editor Moon Design, Layout Why I am a Friend of the Wissahickon Published by Princeton Packet, Princeton, NJ Printed on recycled paper. Many people speak in a caring manner about the importance of giving back to the Wissahickon. Being a Friend of the Wissahickon not only enables me to give back by making a United Way Donations positive, tangible difference in the quality of the park, but also The Friends of the Wissahickon can receive gives me a proud feeling of being, even in a very small way, membership/donations through the United Way. responsible for what makes this park such a treasure. Our United Way number is 9882. If this is the most convenient way for you to give, please do so. Visit our —Jeff Clark, FOW Trail Ambassador and Member since 1990 website (www.fow.org) to learn about the benefits of membership in the Friends of the Wissahickon. 2 Summer 2015 • Friends of the Wissahickon BRIEFLYNOTED FOW at International Trails Symposium FOW Volunteer Coordinator John Holback represented the Friends of the Wissahickon at the 2015 International Trails Symposium in Portland, Oregon. The conference included dozens of lectures lead by trail builders, park/land managers, government agencies, and international trail organizations. Topics discussed included trail user conflict management, volunteer Last Chance to See One Man’s Trash management, trail design pertaining to different user groups, and sustainable trail building FOW staff attended the opening of Trail Ambassador Bradley Maule’s exhibit, One Man’s Trash, practices. —John Holback, Volunteer Coordinator on Earth Day, April 22, at the Fairmount Water Works. Maule collected litter in Wissahickon Valley Park throughout 2015 and amassed 3,786 pieces of trash. His goal was to shine a light on the abuse of the Wissahickon and bring the “carry in, carry out” principle to a larger audience. FOW has been supporting his efforts, and readers of this newsletter were able to follow his progress beginning in January 2015. The exhibit is free to the public and runs through June 26. Pictured here: FOW Executive Walnut Lane Bridge to Director Maura McCarthy, Bradley Maule, and David J. Perri, P.E., Streets Commissioner. Remain Open in 2015 PennDOT has announced that repairs to the Walnut Lane Bridge will be postponed to 2016, as reported by the Roxborough/Manayunk Patch. The repair project will remove and replace the bridge roadway, improve lighting and signage, and repair drainage systems and eroded slopes beneath the bridge. At a cost of $7 million, the project is estimated to take six months, and will require crews to close access to the bridge for motorists and direct them along a three-mile detour. Pedestrians will still have access to the bridge during the project. Wildlife Boxes for Sale Volunteers from the Structures Maggie and Audrey Boyle Crew and other individuals, under the direction of Steve Okula, have produced Annual Ice Cream Social enough blue bird, hawk, bat, Wednesday, August 19, 2015 and wood duck boxes, that FOW can now offer them for 3 to 6 pm sale. Find them at Killian’s 8708 Germantown Avenue in Chestnut Hill Hardware in Chestnut Hill, Free ice cream • Live music Stanley’s Hardware on Ridge Nature activities for children Avenue in Roxborough, and Meet with FOW’s staff and volunteers. the Wissahickon Environmental Members and volunteers are encouraged to Center. Sales benefit FOW’s Wildlife wear their FOW gear! Committee. Thanks to Steve, Sam, John, Dave, Rich, and everyone else at More information at www.fow.org The Woodshop! Friends of the Wissahickon • Summer 2015 3 STENTON AVENUE NORTHWESTERNO AVENUE 1 RO D A ILL S M G L’ E BEL R 18 M A NSTENTON AVENUE T O SPRING LA. W N MANATAWNAOL AVE. 2 D A LINE R E V Chestnut U O E NORTHWESTERN16 AVENUE N N STENTON AVENUE REX AVENUESTENTON U AVENUE E Hill E V A R O 1 8 OAD E A ILL G M G L’DS 22 9 D EL E I B 18 7 ST.R MARTINS LANE R M A NORTHWESTERNO AVENUE A NORTHWESTERN AVENUE N IELD T FIELDFI OWILLOW GROVE AVE. SPRING LA. 19 W 1 ROAD NSPRINGFIELD20 AVE. A MANATAWNAOL AVE. L 2 ILL S M G 14 D ELL’ E . A LINEB R R DR V E MILLLL OA 18 R Chestnut E’S D M E U WISEWIS REEN 16 Y G A N N E N 17 LL REX AVENUE U E 155 T Hill A O E V V O SPRING LA. W A HENHENRY AVENUE W EN O 8 N E N MANATAWNAOL AVE. MANATAWNAOL AVE.A 2 G 22 D 9 D D I 7 ST. MARTINS LANE A LINE R 4 LINE R V R E V Chestnut E Chestnut E A U E 16 MCM C N N IELD REX AVENUE U FIELDFI E C WILLOW GROVEHill AVE. E Hill E V 19 5 C ALLENS LANE A A A STENTONSPRINGFIELD AVENUE AVE. 20 O E 8 E E L A V L Roxborough A I 24 G G D 22 U R 9 14D 9 D .M I I L RO D 7 DST. MARTINS LANE MILLL A R Mt. Airy R D R S WISEWISE’ LIV REEN S A N EZY EG T E E Y R 17 L L IELD 155 D L STENTONE AVENUEFIELDFI A A E WILLOW GROVE AVE. O D V N N N N T HENHENRY AVENUE NORTHWESTERN19 I AVENUE STENTON AVENUE B E E EN E SPRINGFIELD20 AVE.