By James Shallenberger, SRBC

Manager of Monitoring & Protection

The Upper Octoraro Creek watershed, which straddles Lancaster and Chester counties in the rural Lower Susquehanna, is the setting for a unique and innovative pilot project that is making conservation strides in partnership with the area's largest community of farmers. Fully launched in 2023 and growing year-over-year, the Amish Liaison Project refers to a collaboration that unites various conservation stakeholders with farmers who adhere to Anabaptist traditions as members of Old Order Amish and Mennonite communities. 

The level of cooperation and acceptance by farmers to adopt conservation practices varies individually and among all community types. However, some Anabaptist communities, with a core belief in self-reliance, may wrestle balancing their religious belief system with the implementation of recommended farming practices and modern technology.

The approximately 95-square-mile Upper Octoraro watershed was selected as a pilot for the Amish Liaison Project for multiple reasons:

• Octoraro Creek ranks among the highest nitrogen, phosphorus, and suspended sediment pollutant yields (pounds of pollutant per watershed acre) in the Chesapeake Bay watershed;
• More than 70% of the watershed land area consists of farmland and more than 70% of the approximately 1,200 farms in the watershed are operated by Amish and Mennonite farmers;
• The aquatic life communities in Octoraro Creek and its tributaries are extensively degraded; and,
• This watershed is the source of drinking water for Chester Water Authority’s more than 40,000 customer accounts (serving over 200,000 people), as well as the thousands of farms and rural residences in the watershed that rely on private water wells. 

Often the first step for farmers who elect to participate is to work with a conservation agent to write agriculture conservation plans required by Pennsylvania law to address erosion, soil loss, and water pollution due to over-application or storm runoff of manure and fertilizer. Such conservation plans are the foundation to implement practices that improve the efficient use of farm resources, support health of livestock, reduce water pollution, and enhance overall environmental quality for the farm and downstream neighbors and communities. 

It’s a hard truth that a full suite of conservation measures for a typical farm in the Upper Octoraro Creek watershed (and Pennsylvania/Bay region more broadly) can carry a price tag of $500,000 or more and take several years to implement. The project focus is on patience, education, trust-building, and support that helps these farmers navigate the complex regulatory, technical, financial, and administrative landscape that is the reality for farming in Pennsylvania and the Chesapeake Bay watershed in the

21^st century.

SRBC Environmental Scientist Johanna Hripto recently participated in a community science field day with Owego Free Academy high school students to test streams for salt pollution levels and to study the impacts of winter road salt use on the environment.

The event was held in Town of Union, New York, and organized by Southern Tier 8 Regional Board, Broome Tioga Stormwater Coalition, Stroud Water Research Center among other partners. The project evolved from connections made through the Southern Tier New York Susquehanna Basin Monitoring Collaborative.

Students got to hear about a recent Commission study on stream salinization, tour a salt barn and learn ways to reduce salt use. The day's events were covered by the local news media.