Savage River Watershed Association: Big Efforts of a Small Group

• Watershed and Organization Background
• Successful Initiatives
• OSM/VISTA Program
• Watershed Assessment and Planning
• Invasive Species Management Program
• Savage River Head Water Brook Trout Barrier Removal Project
• Those Who Make It Possible

• 74,222 acres
• 17% of Garrett County
• Maryland Conservation Priority

• Brook trout listed as a species of greatest conservation need by
Maryland DNR, Natural Heritage Program
• Maryland Brook Trout Alliance formed
• Acid mine drainage remediation efforts in Aaron Run
• Savage River watershed identified as priority
• Conservation efforts in the watershed began

Cool mountain streams
in the Savage River
watershed provide
habitat for the largest
intact populations of
native brook trout in
Maryland
• Savage River Watershed
Association incorporated in
2006

The Savage River Watershed Association (SRWA) is a group of
local landowners and other citizens dedicated to preserving
and enhancing the rural nature and natural resources of the
Savage River watershed by assisting interested landowners and
public land managers with environmental stewardship efforts
and educational outreach.

• Brook Trout habitat preservation and restoration
• OSM/VISTA as watershed coordinator
• Capacity building
• Public outreach & education (brochure, display,
member and interest lists)
• Advocacy on local land use issues

• Surface and groundwater
• Species diversity
• Wildlands and natural areas
• Fish and wildlife habitat
• Recreation
• Open space
• Scenic beauty

• Acid rain
• Thermal pollution
• Habitat destruction
• Exotic invasive species
• Acid mine drainage (AMD)
• Erosion and sediment
• Stormwater runoff
• Loss of farms and forests
• Over consumption of water

• Assess watershed for impacts
• Monitor water quality of streams
• Control exotic invasive species
• Plant forest buffers along streams
• Provide educational outreach
• Promote conservation landscaping
• Promote ecosystem based
management

Office of Surface Mining/Volunteer In Service To
America (OSM/VISTA)
Watershed assessment and planning
Invasive species management program
Savage River Headwater Brook Trout Barrier
Removal Project

• A volunteer watershed coordinator…
• Provides support to organization
• Builds capacity and sustainability
• Raises environmental and cultural awareness
• Engages in educational outreach
• And much more!
SRWA has placed three VISTAs and two internships

“A model for smarter watershed restoration”
• Izaak Walton League of America leading two year
watershed assessment project
• National Fish and Wildlife
Foundation is the primary funder
• Visioning session held to encourage
stakeholder involvement

• Save Our Streams (SOS)
Biological Monitoring
• Volunteer water quality
program developed by IWLA
• Benthic macroinvertebrates
used as stream health indicator

• Stream Corridor Assessment (SCA)
• DNR's Watershed Restoration Division
• Identify environmental problems
• Prioritize restoration opportunities
• Trained personnel walk stream network and record information
• Maryland Conservation Corps participation

• Equipment and training
has been provided to
SRWA through
sponsoring organizations
• Beginning year two
of the project!

Invasive Plant Pull
SRWA removed large areas of
Japanese spiraea in Bear Pen
Wildlands area of Savage
River State Forest
SRWA Commitments:
•plant pulls twice a year
•restore 25 acres

• four volunteer work days
over two years
• average 10 volunteers at
each pull
• 136 hours of volunteer
hours donated
Invasive Plant Pull
What we’ve accomplished…

Plant Pull
Volunteers
2008 & 2009

Native Red Spruce Plantings
Hemlock woolly adelgid threatens hemlock stands within the watershed
Without the shade provided by the
hemlocks, the cool waters of brook
trout habitat are lost

Native Red Spruce Plantings
Red spruce can perform some of the ecological roles of hemlock
SRWA Commitments
• plant 3000 red spruce plugs in
riparian buffer areas
• restore over four miles of
riparian area
• assess impacts of the plantings

Native Red Spruce Plantings
What we’ve accomplished…
• 2000 red spruce trees
planted in 2009
• 55 volunteers
• 332 hours donated by
volunteers
• 1000 more trees to be
planted in 2010

2009 Red Spruce
Planting
Volunteers
Thank you to Sunshine L. Brosi for the use of her photos.

• Impoundment once used as a source
for public drinking water is barrier to
brook trout passage
• Pond is a source of thermal pollution
in stream
• Located on the main stem of Savage
River headwaters

• SRWA has partnered with Canaan Valley Institute (CVI),
Department of Natural Resources (DNR), and the City of
Frostburg to remove this barrier and restore the stream
channel.
• National Fish and Wildlife Foundation is major funder

Project outcomes:
• Restore brook trout and other fish
passage
• Reduce thermal impact in Savage
River headwaters
• Restore 1,000 ft section of stream
channel
• Construct emergent wetland in
place of pond to provide habitat
and flood protection

Office of Surface Mining
Appalachian Coal Country
Watershed Team (ACCWT)
Bureau of Mines
Maryland DNR
City of Frostburg
Western Maryland RC&D
Izaak Walton League of
America
Trout Unlimited
Friends of New Germany
Eastern Coal Regional
Roundtable
Chesapeake Bay Trust,
Capacity Building Initiative
National Fish and Wildlife
Foundation
Canaan Valley Institute
Frostburg State University
Appalachian Laboratory
Other Watershed &
Conservation Groups

Frostburg State University faculty and students
Meadow Mountain Youth Camp
Backbone Mountain Youth Camp
SRWA board and general members
Local citizens and landowners
Other partners

Liz McDowell, President
Dr. Ann Bristow Braitman, Treasurer
Carol McDaniel, Secretary
John Bambacus, Board Member
Kenneth Braitman, Board Member
John Fritts, Board Member
Michael Dean, Board Member
Dr. J. Edward Gates, Board Member
Dr. Richard L. Raesly, Board Member

Laura M. Haynes
Executive Director
srwadirector@gmail.com
301‐245‐4599
Shannon Philbin
Watershed Coordinator
srwacoordinator@gmail.com
301‐689‐7156