See All Watershed Protection and Restoration

Summer camp for adults or a professional conference? The recent biannual Master Watershed Steward retreat held at the Penn State Greater Allegheny campus in McKeesport fit both descriptions.

Remember summertime maintenance of riparian buffer areas.

This article described how to plant and maintain a grass buffer around riparian areas for wildlife. Grass buffers do not replace forest buffers, but they can be used in areas where planting and maintaining a forest would not be possible.

Healthy streams typically don't follow the straight and narrow.

Discover the Master Watershed Steward Program, empowering communities through conservation, environmental education, and community involvement. Join us today!

Embeddedness is a complex word to describe a simple concept. Are the rocks, gravel, and boulders in the stream bed exposed? Or are they buried by sediment, surrounded by soils, and barely visible?

One of the many visual indicators you might use to assess the health of a stream is the amount of stream bank vegetation and other cover.

Monitoring our waterways is important for assessing stream conditions and water quality and using visual assessments is a low-tech way to evaluate stream health.

Microplastic pollution is not a new problem. However, in recent years, the public has become more aware, and scientists are studying the seriousness of the situation.

Chain of custody water testing is conducted to legally document water quality prior to a nearby activity or land use change. This article discusses how to find a state-accredited laboratory for this service.

Sediment is a stormwater pollutant made up of soil particles detached from the land by erosion and is Pennsylvania's largest surface water pollutant by volume.

This video explains the regulations pertaining to landowners in Pennsylvania about proper use of herbicides in aquatic settings.

Have you ever passed a sign welcoming you to a watershed and wondered what it means? Here are some basic facts about watersheds to help you out.

Live stakes are an increasingly popular way to repair eroding streams on a budget. However, moving plants always comes with the risk of spreading pests and diseases.

Transparency tubes are popular for use in stream monitoring programs. They are also part of the "First Investigation of Stream Health" activity.

A brief introduction and instructional guide to using live staking as an inexpensive and simple technique to restoring eroding stream banks.

Vegetated swales are contoured land areas or ditches covered in plants. They are designed to collect stormwater runoff and move it away from areas where it can't soak into the ground.

Trees adjacent to residential and commercial properties, parks, along roads, and in parking lots provide environmental, social and, economic benefits.

This restoration includes stabilizing and/or altering the stream channel to slow and direct the flow of water to reduce erosion and flooding.

Stormwater basins are the reservoirs built near developments to temporarily hold stormwater during rain and snowmelt. They prevent high volumes of water from rushing into nearby streams during storms.

Pet owners have several choices for safely disposing of their pet waste. The simplest method is usually collecting it in a bag and tossing it in the trash.

Sediment barriers are temporary structures used around the edge of sites with bare soil. They are meant to separate any potential sediment pollution from stormwater that might flow off the site.

A riparian buffer involves planting or retaining trees, shrubs, or tall grasses along the banks of rivers, streams, lakes, and ponds.

The adaptability of rain gardens makes it possible to fit them on urban and suburban sites where green space is limited.

These pervious surfaces are designed to allow snowmelt and rain to drain through the hard, but porous, top surface.