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Watershed Restoration

Watershed Restoration: A Shared Public and Private Investment

Stroud Water Research Center works hand in hand with landowners, helping them use their land more effectively through whole-farm planning and watershed stewardship. In return for our program services, landowners are asked to install forested buffers on streams on their properties and to allow us ongoing access to their sites to gather the scientific data from these efforts.

Our expert team sets up the collaborations and partnerships necessary to achieve the highest level of freshwater conservation. The Stroud Center and many partner groups and agencies have secured over $20 million dollars through USDA’s Resource Conservation Partnership Program to support agriculture conservation and restoration projects on farms in the Delaware and Chesapeake Bay watersheds.

Archival photo of Robin L. Vannote, Ph.D., working at an indoor stream flume.The Robin L. Vannote Watershed Restoration Program is named for Robin Vannote, Ph.D., a research scientist and the Stroud Center’s first director. Under Vannote’s leadership, the Stroud Center evolved from a dream to an institution at the forefront of freshwater research. The Stroud Center has benefited enormously from Vannote’s hard work, keen insight, and long-term scientific vision since 1966, and the naming of the Watershed Restoration Program is a fitting tribute.

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Watershed Restoration Staff

Photo of Lisa Blazure

Lisa Blazure

Soil Health Coordinator
Rebecca Duczkowski

Rebecca Duczkowski

Assistant Director of Donor Relations and Watershed Restoration Assistant
Matthew Ehrhart

Matthew Ehrhart

Director of Watershed Restoration
Lamonte Garber

Lamonte Garber

Watershed Restoration Coordinator
David Wise

David Wise

Watershed Restoration Manager
Calen Wylie

Calen Wylie

Watershed Restoration Program Assistant

Watershed Restoration News

Photo of an American eel being weighed as part of a scientific study.
White Clay Creek: A Pennsylvania Stream Responds to Reforestation
The East Branch of White Clay Creek is the subject of a restoration study on a time scale rarely applied to streams or rivers anywhere in the world ... Read More
Photo of a farm with a large muddy area with cattle.
A Small Farm Offers Big Opportunities for Measuring Watershed Restoration Success
Stream restorations rarely get monitored rigorously enough to determine if the “patient” has fully recovered ... Read More
Video still showing a backyard vegetable garden.
Better Gardens, Better Soils: Improve Water Quality and Soil Health in Your Backyard
With a little bit of knowledge and prep work in the off season, you can just plant and harvest. Wouldn’t that be nice? ... Read More
Video still showing a webinar speaker against background image with the American Rivers logo.
From Cities to Suburbs to Farms: How Innovative Water Management Helps River Health
Learn from a panel of experts how natural and green infrastructure are paying off for the health of the Delaware River ... Read More
Restoring the River Continuum Community
Restoring the River Continuum Community
We're working with partners and land users to implement natural solutions to regenerate soils and safeguard fresh water, solutions that benefit both human communities and the entire ecosystem. ... Read More
Volunteers Help Plant Trees for Healthy Streams
Volunteers Help Plant Trees for Healthy Streams
The trees will help restore stream banks, create habitat corridors, and mitigate runoff from a nearby road ... Read More

Watershed Restoration Projects

Ag BMP Planning and Implementation for Berks County

This project operates the Farm Stewardship Program in Berks County, assisting farmers to implement whole-farm conservation while leveraging U.S. Department of Agriculture funding for work including forested buffers. Read more

Leveraging Farm Bill Funds for Water Quality in the Brandywine-Christina and Middle Schuylkill Clusters

This project provides outreach and technical assistance to farmers in Chester and Berks counties to ensure full implementation of funds provided by U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Regional Conservation Partnership Program for constructing ag best management practices. Read more

Whole-Farm Conservation Including Forested Buffers

This project expands the Farm Stewardship Program in Lancaster and Franklin Counties — the top two dairy counties in Pennsylvania. To address water-quality issues, whole-farm conservation with forested buffers is implemented. Farmers who install forested buffers receive incentives that can only be used to pay for other needed best management practices on the farm. Read more

Comprehensive Agricultural Stewardship in Lancaster County

Stroud Center’s Farm Stewardship Program provides technical and financial assistance to farmers and landowners to implement best management practices (BMPs) to protect water quality and improve stream health. Read more

Demonstrating Low-Cost Methods for Reforestation

Four sites in New York, Pennsylvania, and Maryland will demonstrate options for improving the cost-effectiveness of reforestation methods, including direct seeding, innovative fencing in lieu of tree shelters, live stakes, improved methods for managing herbivore competition, and more. Read more

Delaware River Watershed Initiative Circuit Rider for Technical Assistance to Grantees

This project provides technical assistance to grantees of the William Penn Foundation and the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation to develop and implement watershed restoration efforts and grants to monitor the impact of projects implemented in the Delaware River Watershed Initiative clusters. Read more