More From Our 2009 Annual Report

Penn's Woods Working     Woodlands Elk Timberlands	Fresh Water Delaware Susquehanna
Cherry Valley Moosic Mountain	Annual Report    Landing Page

An impact to Pennsylvania’s vast river systems sends ripples out for hundreds, even thousands, of miles.

Rain or snow falling on Pennsylvania can travel thousands of miles, finding its way to the Chesapeake Bay via the Susquehanna River, to the Gulf of Mexico via the mighty Mississippi, and to the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence River via a multitude of rivers and streams. Along those thousands of miles of waterways, precipitation from Pennsylvania provides fresh water for thousands of farms, millions of people and uncounted wildlife.

But changes in natural water flows, nutrient runoff and sedimentation are altering the habitats needed by freshwater animals like fish, mussels, crayfish and amphibians — among the species most at risk in the United States. These changes will have a tremendous impact on the ability of Pennsylvania’s rivers to provide drinking water and sustain life here and across the East Coast.

Susquehanna River: Pennsylvania icon

The Susquehanna River is the largest watershed in the northeastern United States, and it contributes approximately 50% of the fresh water that flows into the Chesapeake Bay. Once hosting huge spawning runs of American shad, American eel, Atlantic sturgeon, and river herring, the Susquehanna is now better known for the levels of harmful nutrients and sediment it carries into the Chesapeake. Restoring migratory fish populations, reducing high nutrient and sediment loads, and ensuring that the water flowing into the Chesapeake is of sufficient quality and quantity to support the Bay ecosystem are high priorities for the Conservancy.

The ‘Old Growth’ Rivers

Some of the rivers of the Upper Ohio and Upper Allegheny river system, such as French Creek, have been spared the worst impacts of human activities

Priorities for the Conservancy — which has been working in the system since 1991 — are the more intact, higher viability rivers, which may eventually provide seed animals for restoring mussel populations in other parts of the Ohio River watershed that are recovering from past ecological disturbances.

Delaware: The Undammed Waters

The Delaware — a nationally designated wild and scenic river — remains the longest, undammed, free-flowing river on the East Coast. Shad, sturgeon, eel and other species still migrate up through the Delaware River each spring. But today they’re joined by a massive human population, nearly 20 million of whom depend on the river and its tributaries for their water supply. In addition, the system is under pressure from development, decades of converting land and controlling water flow that have disturbed the river’s natural rhythms, and invasive plants that have taken hold.

To restore balance, the Conservancy has worked with the four basin states, New York City, and the Delaware River Basin Commission to design a sustainable flow management system that protects the water supply for people, but also meets the needs of fish, mussels, and other species. In addition, the Conservancy recently worked with partners to thoroughly identify and describe plant communities along a portion of the river. These findings will be used to steer conservation and restoration work in this important freshwater system. More information can be found in the project's executive summary. (.pdf)

The Lake Effect

Presque Isle, a 3,200-acre sandy peninsula jutting into Lake Erie at the City of Erie that teems with wildlife, is one of two priority Lake Erie sites in Pennsylvania that the Conservancy has included in its Great Lakes Conservation Blueprint. The second is the Conneaut Creek watershed, which the Conservancy has designated one of the 20 most important watersheds for conservation in the Great Lakes basin.

For years the Conservancy has worked in the Great Lakes to promote innovative land management practices, battle invasive species and advocate for conservation-friendly policies.  
 

Nature picture credits (top to bottom, left to right): Photo © Dave Spier (Autumn, panoramic view of the Susquehanna river, Pennsylvania); Photo © Jon Golden (Mussel inventory at Clinch River, Virginia); Photo © Patrick von Keyserling/TNC (Woodbourne Preserve).