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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
Headshot of David Wise.

David Wise

Watershed Restoration Manager
Calen Wylie

Calen Wylie

Watershed Restoration Program Assistant

Watershed Restoration News

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.
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.
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.
Photo of rolled bales of hemp in a foggy field.
What Do Hemp Fiber, Soil Health, and Water Quality Have in Common?
Stroud Water Research Center has launched a collaborative project to study the cultivation, soil health and environmental impact, and manufacturing of industrial hemp fiber.
Photo of Martha Ressler's quilt honoring tree-planting volunteers.
700 Trees, Three Volunteers, and a Quilt
Fiber artist Martha Ressler found a unique way to honor the volunteers who helped her and her husband Jay plant a “mini-forest” on their property: she immortalized them in a quilt.
Focusing on Farms to Safeguard the Delaware River
Focusing on Farms to Safeguard the Delaware River
An article in Edible Philly dives into the effort to protect and restore clean water in the Delaware River watershed by working with farmers.

Watershed Restoration Projects

Outreach and Installation of Agricultural Best Management Practices in Brandywine-Christina

This project will install conservation practices on farms to improve watershed health. It will provide outreach, technical assistance, and financial Read more

Healthy Soils, Healthy Streams Training, and Technical Assistance

This project will conduct trainings on soil health and stream health for nearly 6,000 farmers, conservation professionals, and others. Pennsylvania Read more

Restoring Flood Attenuation and Ecological Resiliency in the Mid-Atlantic Piedmont

For this project, scientists and watershed restoration professionals restore one headwater basin to reduce flooding downstream, improve water quality, and Read more

Improving Stream Water Quality and Reducing Runoff by Improving Farm Soil Health Through Permanent Cover Cropping

Scientists are studying how soil structure and soil ecosystem health improve farm fields over a three-year period after shifting from Read more

West Chester Area School District Water Quality Education Center

Stroud Water Research Center educators and restoration staff will provide assistance in this newly funded project in forest restoration, establishment Read more

Water-Quality Monitoring at Fair Hill Training Center

Scientists are monitoring fecal indicator bacteria, sediment, and water chemistry from the barns at the Fair Hill Training Center. Based Read more