reforestation
Why plant trees? Although the White Clay Creek watershed is a National Wild and Scenic River, over three-quarters of the stream segments are identified as impaired from nonpoint source pollution. Research shows “… that the single most important factor explaining variation in water quality in the region is the percentage of tree cover in each watershed. Therefore, in watersheds where tree cover is less than optimal, reforestation is the ‘Best Management Practice.’” *
The important role of reforestation was also recognized in the WCCWMC’s guiding document, The White Clay Creek and Its Tributaries Management Plan, and was recommended in the 2008 State of the Watershed Report prepared for the WCCWMC by the University of Delaware’s Water Resources Agency. * Dr. Bernard Sweeney, Director of the Stroud Water Research Center, White Clay Creek Reforestation Plan, p.3.
REPORT: THE WHITE CLAY CREEK REFORESTATION PLAN 2009
"The Plan calls for a watershed-based reforestation campaign that is integral to sustainable watershed management. It sets a long-term minimum forest cover goal of 40%, a net increase in forest cover across the watershed of approximately 16 percent, or 6,300 acres for the Pennsylvania portion of the White Clay Creek Watershed." February 2009 Prepared by Jessie L. Benjamin of Taproot Native Design, LLC and Robert Lonsdorf of Brandywine Conservancy for the White Clay Creek Watershed Management Committee
Plant for the Planet: Billion Trees Campaign
White Clay Creek Wild & Scenic Reforestation Project is proud to be a part of the United Nations Environment Program's Plant for the Planet - The Billion Tree Campaign - Growing Greener.
Reforesting the Watershed, One Township at a Time2009-2010
This project seeks to motivate and educate residents and municipal officials of London Grove and Franklin Townships, Chester County, Pennsylvania to reforest open space to protect water resources through an educational workshop, supporting materials, and follow up expertise to assist with future plantings of 5000 trees within the two municipalities. The project is being funded by the League of Women Voters of Pennsylvania Citizen Education Fund through a Section 319 Federal Clean Water Act grant from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency administered by Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, the E. Kneale Dockstader Foundation, and the National Park Service's Partner Wild and Scenic River Program.