December 18, 2009

Friends Of Delaware Start Major Stream Restoration Project: The first stage in a massive stream restoration project, a Friends of the Upper Delaware River funded study recently completed by LandStudies Inc. lays out plans for the total rehabilitation of Sands and Cadosia Creeks in the Town of Hancock. This project will benefit habitat for the fishery, mitigate flooding for inhabitants of the watershed, and serve as a pilot program for streams throughout the region.
Click Here to watch a video overview of the project.

December 9, 2009

Tour Marcellus Shale Drilling Site. The December edition of Focus on Pennsylvania follows Sen. Mary Jo White (R-Venango) and Sen. Gene Yaw (R-Lycoming) as they tour Chief Oil & Gas Marcellus Shale natural gas operations in Lycoming County.
The program covers topics such as the economic benefits and job creation from Marcellus Shale development as well as the environmental precautions and safety measures taken by the industry. Click here to watch video.

December 6, 2009

Carbon Benefits For PA Forest Land Owners. The Nature Conservancy-PA recently launched a model forest conservation program that aims to protect forests and fight climate change through an agreement with Blue Source to jointly develop market-based incentives that reward landowners who demonstrate exceptional forest management practices.
"Working Woodlands" is a new model of conservation that puts the growing market for carbon credits to work as a means to promote high quality forest conservation strategies on private lands," said Dylan Jenkins, the Pennsylvania director of forest conservation for The Nature Conservancy.
Building on the Conservancy and Blue Source's combined experience with land protection, forest certification and carbon finance, Working Woodlands uses an innovative combination of long-term working forest conservation agreements, Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) forest management certification, and carbon market payments to make conservation a more attractive proposition for landowners. Click here for more information.

December 3, 2009

Lancaster County Energy From Waste Facility Tour. Senators Mike Folmer (R-Lebanon) and Lloyd Smucker (R-Lancaster) recently took a tour of the energy from waste facility built by the Lancaster County Solid Waste Authority.
The facility, operated by Covanta Energy, processed 379,000 tons of waste in 2008 producing 219 million kilowatts of electricity.
Going into service in 1991, the facility was built because the county wanted to reduce its dependence on landfilling as its primary waste disposal method as part of an integrated waste management system for the county. The system emphasizes waste reduction, recycling and energy generation with the final option being landfilling. Click here to watch the tour.