Reclaiming Devil's Pool. The Friends of the Wissahickon have released a short documentary “Reclaiming Devil’s Pool,” produced by FOW member Jason Fifield of Slife Productions, documents FOW’s work at Devil’s Pool, part of the Sustainable Trails Initiative, a multi-stage commitment by FOW to help make the 50 miles of natural surface in the Wissahickon Valley Park an environmentally and socially sustainable system that works for all park users.
The film does an excellent job of explaining the work of STI with an emphasis on the Devil’s Pool Reclamation project completed in 2010 and the collaborative nature of this and all STI projects. In addition, the film highlights the role of volunteers, in particular FOW’s Trail Ambassadors. Says Mark Focht, Executive Director of Fairmount Park, “It’s not just about trail usage. It’s about the environmental sustainability of the Wissahickon Watershed, which is a unique watershed in Philadelphia and the whole region.”

CBF Asks For Federal Study Of Marcellus Shale Drilling Impacts. The Chesapeake Bay Foundation and its partners took actions today to call on the federal government to conduct a comprehensive scientific analysis of the cumulative impacts of natural gas drilling in the Marcellus Shale formation in the six Bay states, New York, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Delaware, West Virginia, and Virginia. In a conference call with reporters, Matt Ehrhart, PA Office Director CBF, outlines the request for the study. Click Here for more background.
Other statements from the CBF press conference call--
Amy McDonnell, CBF attorney
John Dawes, Foundation for PA Watersheds
Cinda Waldbuesser, National Parks Conservation Association

Bipartisan Marcellus Shale Severance Tax Introduced. Sen. John T. Yudichak (D-Luzerne) announced today he has introduced Senate Bill 905 that would implement a severance tax on the extraction of natural gas in Pennsylvania providing funding for the H20 Water Infrastructure Program, local governments impacted by drilling and the Growing Greener environmental restoration program. The Senator provides an overview of the proposal in this video.
Other videos from this announcement include:
Sen. Ted Erickson (R-Delaware)
Sen. John Blake (D-Lackawanna)
Larry Williamson, Renew Growing Greener Coalition

Water Saving Tips From PA American Water. To draw attention to the more than one trillion gallons of water wasted each year in U.S. homes due to leaks, Pennsylvania American Water today announced its support for the Environmental Protection Agency’s “Fix a Leak Week,” by launching a short video to advise homeowners on ways to save water and money by finding and repairing leaks. Fix a Leak Week runs March 14-20.

Pennsylvania American Water produced the three-minute video showing how to check for leaks throughout a household and how to make easy, inexpensive repairs, which can save thousands of gallons of water over the course of a year. Homeowners can view the video via the company’s YouTube channel or its Facebook page.

Ellen Ferretti, VP Pennsylvania Environmental Council, testifies before the Senate Majority Policy Committee on the local impacts of Marcellus Shale natural gas drilling. Click Here to read a copy of her testimony.