Blairsville, Pa. – April 7 – The Western Pennsylvania Conservancy (WPC) and the Dominion Foundation recently awarded $30,000 to 24 watershed groups in 15 counties across the Commonwealth as part of their Watershed Mini Grant Program.

Allegheny County awardees included the Allegheny Watershed Alliance of Pittsburgh, Pa., which received $550 for outreach efforts that include the production of postcards, coasters, fact sheets and stickers. Turtle Creek Watershed Association of Jeanette, Pa., also received $600 for the design of informational signs that will be placed at trailheads along the Westmoreland Heritage Trail.

Other awardees included the following organizations, which received their awards at a reception in Blairsville, Pa. on April 6:

• Allegheny Aquatic Alliance of Freedom, Pa., which received $2,000 for its 5th annual cleanup of Connoquenessing Creek. Funds will be used to help with the cost of recycling tires that will be removed from the creek along with other large debris and trash.
• Bucktail Watershed Association of Emporium, Pa., which received $1,600 for its knotweed removal efforts and water monitoring within the Sinnemahoning Creek watershed.
• Buffalo Creek Watershed Association of Claysville, Pa., which received $750 for its work of monitoring water quality.
• Chartiers Creek Watershed Association of McMurray, Pa., which received $850 for its water quality monitoring efforts and newsletter production.
• Chest Creek Watershed Alliance of Patton, Pa., which received $600 for its work assessing water quality on Brubaker Run.
• Clearfield Creek Watershed Association of Ashville, Pa., which received $600 for its water quality monitoring work.
• Conemaugh Valley Conservancy of Johnstown, Pa., which received $525 for the production and distribution of reports and infographics.
• Connoquenessing Watershed Alliance of Butler, Pa., which received $600 for trees that will be planted along Thorn Creek by school students.
• Crooked Creek Watershed Association of Indiana, Pa., which received $650 for the production and distribution of a biannual newsletter.
• Eastern PA Coalition for Abandoned Mine Reclamation of Ashley, Pa., which received $450 to expand outreach and promotion efforts in Dauphin and Tioga counties.
• Emigh Run/Lakeside Watershed Association, Inc., of Osceola Mills, Pa., which received $1,950 to support a stream crossing restoration and water quality analysis. The restoration project will reduce sediment input and allow safe access to abandoned mine drainage treatment systems.
• Evergreen Conservancy of Indiana, Pa., which received $2,625 toward outreach and the maintenance of water quality monitoring equipment. Evergreen will use the funds toward a newsletter, brochure and other promotional materials supporting their Tanoma AMD Wetlands website.
• Genesee Headwaters Watershed Association of Coudersport, Pa., which received $900 toward water quality monitoring, outreach efforts and fees associated with their first river cleanup.
• Jacobs Creek Watershed Association of Scottsdale, Pa., which received $1,250 for the purchase of rain barrels that will be utilized in an outreach and stormwater mitigation project in Scottsdale Borough.
• Kettle Creek Watershed Association of Mill Hall, Pa., which received $3,000 toward a stream restoration project on Walters Run. The project will stabilize the stream bank and provide aquatic habitat along this tributary to Kettle Creek.
• Loyalhanna Watershed Association of Ligonier, Pa., which received $1,100 to redesign their website.
• Morgan Run Watershed Association of Clearfield, Pa., which received $1,000 toward the costs of water quality analysis.
• Primrose Creek Watershed Association of Langhorne, Pa., which received $1,550 to replace aging water quality monitoring equipment.
• Tioga County Concerned Citizens Committee of Blossburg, Pa., which received $1,800 to produce a brochure, analyze water chemistry and replenish limestone sand in an acid deposition treatment system.
• Tubmill Trout Club Unlimited (TTCU) of New Florence, Pa., which received $2,500 for its work on a stream restoration project. TTCU, recipient of last year’s showcase award, is continuing to stabilize stream banks to prevent erosion and improve in-stream habitat within the Tubmill Creek watershed.
• Upper Allegheny Watershed Association of Roulette, Pa., which received $900 to expand outreach and promotion efforts.
• Washington County Watershed Alliance of Washington, Pa., which received $1,650 for water quality monitor maintenance supplies and the production of a watershed map.

The grant program provides assistance to the region’s watershed groups. This year’s awards cover program expenses in three areas: water quality monitoring, watershed restoration, and organizational promotion and outreach. Since 2005, WPC and the Dominion Foundation have collaborated to help enhance water quality and watershed initiatives through this grant program, which has awarded $313,475 to more than 110 organizations.

“The Mini Grant Program offers invaluable funding for smaller volunteer-based organizations and helps them to administer and complete a variety of projects – like tree plantings and water monitoring – that are important to sustaining and enhancing local watersheds,” said Don Houser, Dominion’s director of government affairs.

###

 

Photos of each organization have been made available courtesy of the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy:  http://bit.ly/23kL4fH

About Dominion:

Dominion and the Dominion Foundation are dedicated to improving the physical, social and economic well-being of the communities served by Dominion companies. Dominion and the Dominion Foundation support nonprofit causes that meet basic human needs, protect the environment, support education and promote community vitality. For more information about Dominion (NYSE: D), one of the nation’s largest producers and transporters of energy, visit www.dom.com.

About the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy:

The Western Pennsylvania Conservancy (WPC) enhances the region’s quality of life by protecting and restoring exceptional places. A private nonprofit conservation organization founded in 1932, WPC has helped to establish ten state parks, conserved more than a quarter million acres of natural lands and protected or restored more than 3,000 miles of rivers and streams. The Conservancy owns and operates Fallingwater, which symbolizes people living in harmony with nature. In addition, WPC enriches our region’s cities and towns through 130 community gardens and other green spaces that are planted with the help of about 12,000 volunteers. The work of the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy is accomplished through the support of more than 10,000 members. For more information, visit WaterLandLife.org.

Media contact:

Kristen Blevins
Communications Specialist
412-586-2328
kblevins@paconserve.org