Allegheny River Headwaters Watershed Conservation Plan

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Allegheny River Headwaters Conservation Plan Executive Summary Issues and Concerns • Identifying visions and goals is a fundamental element of watershed conservation planning. In order to obtain these visions and goals, local stakeholders were contacted using a variety of methods, including portable displays, public meeting workshops, student workshops, a focus group meeting, municipal surveys, individual interviews, personal communication, community events, and a project website. • Stakeholder identified the following issues: o Project Area Characteristics—infrastructure, employment, legal and political, dirt and gravel roadways o Land Resources—stone quarries and natural gas drilling o Water Resources—brine usage and stormwater management o Biological Resources—habitat destruction and decreased wildlife populations o Cultural Resources—respecting private lands, seasonal recreational opportunities, and environmental education Management Recommendations • Management recommendations are non-regulatory suggestions to maintain or improve the conditions that affect many aspects of life within the region. These recommendations are best used as a guide to conserving, restoring, or improving important watershed characteristics. They were compiled from municipal and public surveys, public meeting workshops, and key individual interview comments. • No limitation to the number or types of issues, actions, approaches, partners or funding opportunities should be assumed, due to ever changing circumstances. Creativity in implementing the identified recommendations or developing additional suggestions is highly encouraged. Table ES-1. Management Recommendation Goals Project Area Characteristics • Proactively plan for future development. • Carefully plan development to ensure economic enhancement while preserving community character without adversely affecting quality of life. • Enhance marketability to prospective business and establish economic stability to maintain a balanced workforce. • Encourage economic growth with minimal impacts to the environment. • Increase communications and cooperation among municipalities and counties within the region to promote sharing of services and improve conditions collectively affecting the watersheds. • Identify impacts of acid precipitation to minimize and remediate these impacts. • Enhance transportation infrastructure. • Enhance financial support and services to prepare emergency response providers. • Educate stakeholders how land use planning can be affective. • Educate stakeholders about benefits of watershed protection and the use of best management practices. • Support community libraries and expand service opportunities. ES-5
Allegheny River Headwaters Conservation Plan Executive Summary Table ES-1. Management Recommendation Goals (continued) Land Resources • Explore opportunities to generate alternative energy. • Reduce impacts caused by dirt and gravel roadways. • Establish cooperation between surface and subsurface rights landowners and develop protection rights for surface landowners in order to protect their property. • Preserve agricultural lands and culture for future generations • Establish or enhance incentives for land protection and conservation practice implementation. • Identify, inventory, cleanup illegal dumpsites, and prosecute violators using illegal dumpsites. • Work with agriculturalist to install best management practices at their farms to reduce impacts on herds and area waterways. • Minimize impacts caused by exploration, production, retirement, and abandonment of wells. • Reclaim abandoned wells, mines, and quarries. • Protect ecologically significant lands. • Increase awareness about practices to assist agricultural and forest landowner in managing their lands effectively. • Increase awareness about the impacts from litter, illegal dumps, and abandoned vehicles. Water Resources • Protect area waterways while increasing wildlife habitat opportunities. • Increase awareness about the benefits of riparian corridors. • Further investigate wetlands and their functions and protect their resources. • Educate stakeholders about the value and importance of wetlands. • Reduce the amount of erosion and sedimentation entering waterways. • Monitor water quantity to ensure demand does not exceed water supply. • Monitor the use of brine water as a treatment on dirt and gravel roads. • Minimize potential flooding damages by taking a proactive approach to managing floodplains. • Encourage non-structural approaches to floodplain management. • Minimize impacts from stormwater through planning. • Establish, maintain, or upgrade sewage treatment facilities. • Establish, maintain, or upgrade water treatment facilities. • Investigate the need and effectiveness of establishing a water quality trading program within the Allegheny River Headwaters Watershed. • Develop a monitoring plan for the watershed or completed project areas, integrating quality assurance/quality control standards into the plan. • Establish and implement after conservation practices to reduce water consumption. • Conduct an assessment of natural and man-made impoundments, and implement recommendations to enhance their ecosystems. • Protect and evaluate waterways that are designated or eligible for classification as High Quality or Exceptional Value • Reduce water quality impacts by properly disposing of un-needed medication. • Provide educational programs educating residents about impacts and pollution sources. ES-6
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Allegheny River Headwaters Watershed Conservation Plan

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