Watershed Conservation Plan - Destination Erie

Figure 10.4. Example of how GIS can be employed to locate and highlight (in blue) parcels $50 acres
that contain an intersection of wetlands, floodplains, and forest.
167, that agency is identified as having a major leadership role in implementing watershed restoration effort
identified as very high priority in this rivers conservation plan.
Priority protection actions (see Table 10.5) were based on the extensive analyses of chapters 5 and 6 of
this plan, summarized in sections 10.3 and 10.4. A GIS-based, pre-emptive planning initiative to protect
forests, riparian buffers, and headwaters streams is a high priority in all management areas, as is
implementation of BMPs in agricultural areas. More specific kinds of protection activities (e.g., stream-bank
fencing and source water protection actions) are suggested for particular sets of management areas where
those issues are relevant.
Specific priority actions for additional studies in the watershed have not been itemized in a summary
table, but are clearly identified in recommendations summarized in Chapter 9. Examples of needed research
investigations include biological inventories to update the PNHP database (especially for fish and herptiles),
analysis of pesticides and other contaminants in water supplies, continued assessment of E. coli sources in
study area streams and the lake, effects of ongoing climate change on cold water fisheries, vegetation and
agriculture, and archaeological site surveys.
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