ClearWater Conservancy: May 2018 enews
Thank You Watershed CleanUp Day Volunteers and Sponsors!
Our 22nd Annual Watershed CleanUp Day was a huge success! On April 21, 570 volunteers worked together on April to cleaned up 22 TONS of trash at 60 different sites in and around the Spring Creek Watershed in just four hours! After the event, volunteers celebrated their hard work at Circleville Park with live music by the Tussey Mountain Moonshiners! This day is made possible every year by volunteers, ClearWater Conservancy, Centre County Recycling and Refuse Authority, the MS4 Partnership, and many generous sponsors, listed here . Thank You!
Centred Outdoors Launch & Family Fishing Picnic
The launch of Centred Outdoors Season TWO is just around the corner! Join us on June 3 for the Get Outdoors Family Fishing Picnic, hosted by Spring Creek Chapter Trout Unlimited and ClearWater Conservancy. The event is free, and open to the public. All fishing equipment is provided, as well as snacks and refreshments. Enjoy fly tying, knot tying, kids activity stations, and more. Attendees will go home with a Centred Outdoors Passport! Please bring your reusable water bottle to help reduce unnecessary waste.

What is Centred Outdoors? Centred Outdoors is a series of free, outdoor guided adventures taking place all summer long, all around Centre County. We invite YOU to join us for up to 20 adventures, great for all ages and fitness levels, between June 10-August 15! Visit www.centredoutdoors.org today to create your user profile and RSVP for events! Contact us if you'd like volunteer for Centred Outdoors!
June's Adventure in Conservation:
Fly Tying Workshop on June 1

 Tie up an evening with the ClearWater Conservancy and native fishing expert Levi Opsatnic. Levi, like the brook trout, is a Pennsylvania Native. He voices a passion for Pennsylvania's waterways and the wildlife contained in them. Practically born with a fly-rod in-hand, Levi is an avid angler and expert at tying flies for everything from tiny native tributaries to the big salt-water oceans.

Fly Tie with Levi
Friday, June 1 from 6-9 pm
ClearWater Conservancy Office (2555 N. Atherton St.)
$30 per person or group (maximum three people per group)

The evening will include instruction on two flies: a scud, to get the fundamentals down; a Mayfly, to really show off some of the more advanced techniques. In the down-time Levi will also share some fishy tales and background on fly fishing in Central Pennsylvania. There is a $30 registration fee for the cost of materials. Attendees will be able to take home both flies they tie that evening as well as the equipment necessary to keep tying them in the future. Attendees can bring up to two additional guests, but supplies are limited to one set per group. Registration is limited, please register soon.
4 ways to get involved with ClearWater Conservancy!
#1 ClearWater is seeking volunteers to help with Centred Outdoors , specifically with the guided hikes and greeting visitors at the welcome station. Centred Outdoors events begin June 3 and will take place every Sunday and Wednesday through August 15. Our next volunteer training is June 6 at 5:30 in the Patton Township Building. Fill out this Google form f you are interested in being a Centred Outdoors volunteer.

#2 There is a new group forming to monitor and maintain the Spring Creek Canyon Trail this season and ClearWater Conservancy is looking for a few more members to participate. Email Rhonda if you are interested in maintaining the Spring Creek Canyon Trail.

#3 ClearWater Conservancy is looking for up to five site monitors to assist with our land conservation efforts . Volunteers will help monitor properties with a ClearWater conservation easement. Monitoring takes place outdoors at a variety of locations and training will be provided. Email Rhonda if you are interested in becoming a site monitor.

#4 We're also seeking event volunteer s for Otto’s Golf-Fest (Monday, August 27) or The Night BeFORE (Sunday, August 26). Help is needed at registration, logistics, and other tasks. Join a terrific group of volunteers to help make these events successful! We’ll train you, feed you, and give you a shirt! Email Rhonda if you are interested in volunteering for Otto's Golf-Fest or the Night BeFORE.

If you're interested in helping with any of these efforts, please email Rhonda Rumbaugh, Events & Volunteer Coordinator: rhonda1@clearwaterconservancy.org or call ClearWater at 814-237-0400
Bon Voyage, Cynthia!
After dedicating her time for six years as a ClearWater Conservancy board member, Cynthia Berger will be moving on. She and her husband Bill Carlsen (also a ClearWater volunteer), will be setting sail on their solar-powered canal boat! Cynthia has contributed countless days of her time and scientific expertise to advance the mission of ClearWater Conservancy, playing a key role in many of the organization’s recent conservation efforts such as the Slab Cabin Run Initiative. She was awarded the Barbara Fisher Volunteer of the Year Award in 2017, and her leadership has permanently enhanced ClearWater’s ability to collaborate and innovate in the best possible way.

We asked Cynthia to reflect on her time with ClearWater Conservancy, and unsurprisingly, she offered the following inspirational account of being a ClearWater Conservancy board member:

Right after college I worked for a local citizen’s action group that was working to defend a water source in Massachusetts. That started my lifelong interest in water resources. Eight years ago, my husband and I spent a year traveling 6,000 miles around eastern North America in our solar-powered boat. Along the way we got a very up close and personal look at all the different challenges facing our nation’s waters, and when I got home, I decided I had to embrace the slogan “think globally, act locally.” I went to the ClearWater website and filled out the “I want to volunteer” form, mentioning that I was interested in serving on the board. A few weeks later, ClearWater Conservancy contacted me, and that was the start. . . . One of the things I’ve enjoyed most about my time at ClearWater Conservancy is serving as a riparian steward. . . . It's been wonderful working with the landowners, who are so excited about improving the health of the stream and adding wildlife habitat and beauty to their property, while their livestock still have water access. . . . I’m so grateful to have had the chance to work with former director Jen Shuey, current director Deb Nardone, all the ClearWater staff, and my wonderful fellow board members. It's been a learning and growing experience, and I can’t wait to see what the conservancy accomplishes next. As for our plans, we will cruise our solar boat through the historic canals of Canada this summer, and serve as volunteer park rangers and naturalists in Everglades National Park in the winter. We will be stationed in Everglades City, just south of Marco Island on Florida’s West Coast. You can follow our trip at http://www.slowboatcruise.net . ( Read the full story here. )

Cynthia, thank you for your passionate commitment to ClearWater Conservancy. We wish you and Bill safe and happy travels!
Sam Gray Awarded Outstanding Conservation Farmer Award by Centre County Conservation District
The 2017 Outstanding Conservation Farmer Award was presented to Sam Gray, Owner/ Operator of Grayhurst Farm. Grayhurst Farm is located in Halfmoon Township. The project objective was to address the runoff from feeding areas impacting Halfmoon Creek. Halfmoon Creek runs through Gray’s farming operation. Partnering on the project was Centre County Conservation District, Clearwater Conservancy, US Fish & Wildlife Service and PA Dept. of Environmental Protection. A plan was developed and implemented that included best management practices, controlled stream access with off-stream watering system, riparian restoration, construction of manure stacking facility heavy use area protection, and planting stream buffers. Programs contributing to the success of this project were Growing GreenerWatershed Protection, Commonwealth Finance Authority-Watershed Restoration & Protection, Department of Environmental Protection-Streambank Fencing, and National Fish & Wildlife Foundation-Chesapeake Bay Small Watershed Program. ( pictured: Sam Gray (right), Grayhurst Farm, receives Conservation Farmer Award from John Wataha, Centre County Conservation District Agriculture Conservation/ Nutrient Management Technician.) - Conservation Conversation, Spring 2018, Volume 31, No. 1
Thank you Centre Gives donors!
270 donors made this year's Centre Gives great for ClearWater Conservancy, raising $45,000 in just 36 hours to strengthen our efforts to conserve and restore the natural resources here in Central Pennsylvania. Thank you to all those who donated to make our year-round work possible. Didn't have the chance to give during Centre Gives? Consider making a direct donation to ClearWater Conservancy online!
Upcoming Events
June Adventure in Conservation
Centred Outdoors, June 10 & 13
Centred Outdoors, June 17 & 20
Fishing Picnic, June 3
Frog Fest, June 2
The Night BeFORE, August 26
We'd like to thank Nature's Cover of Bellefonte for donating a truckload of mulch for our Native Garden!
Also, we're always looking for trowels, hand pruners, and 2-3 lb. sledge hammers in good usable shape. These tools are a must-have for stream restoration work. If you are able to donate items, please email colleen@clearwaterconservancy.org . Thanks!
The mission of ClearWater Conservancy is to conserve and restore the natural resources of central Pennsylvania through land conservation, water resources stewardship and environmental outreach in the community.
Your ongoing support makes our work possible. Thank you!