The National Park Service has announced the creation of the National Water Trail System. The National Water Trail System is a distinctive national network of exemplary water trails that are cooperatively supported and sustained. Along with this new designation the National Park Service has launched a new web site that has a lot of good water trail resources. We look forward to the designation of the first PA Water Trail as part of this national system.
If you like kayaking, fishing, walking, biking or any other activity along the Delaware River, then become a Tidal Delaware River Ambassador! River Ambassadors are volunteer leaders who organize trips and cleanups, make presentations and other activities – whatever your interest and schedule! Through these activities, Ambassadors provide new opportunities for friends, colleagues and community members to experience the Tidal Delaware River, and educate people about the importance of the river as a natural resource.
Organized by the Pennsylvania Environmental Council, Ambassadors undergo 8 weeks of training from regional leaders in Delaware River history, ecology, recreation, watersheds, human impacts, and policies/plans. The training sessions are also a great way to network with others and visit some unique places along the river – like Pennsbury Manor, Palmyra Cove Nature Park, Heinz Wildlife Refuge or Fort Mifflin.
Visit www.pecpa.org/ambassador to learn more!
Our first “class” of Ambassadors were trained last year, and since then have organized a dozen events last summer including fishing derbies, clean ups, presentations, sailboat tours and more.
Congratulations to the Stonycreek for being names River of the Year!
The Stonycreek River, flowing through Cambria and Somerset counties, has been named the 2012 River of the Year following public, online voting across the state.
For the second year in a row, public voting determined the selection from among four candidates for River of the Year honors. Among more than 12,000 ballots cast, Stonycreek River received 5,674 votes.
The PA Water Trails Partnership recently published the PA Water Trails Program Report . This document provides a history of the PA Water Trails Program, information about current initiatives of the Partnership and technical assistance materials. Please contact Hannah at the PA Environmental Council with questions about this information.
The Recreational Boating & Fishing Foundation (RBFF) today announced the availability of boating and fishing education grants for 2012. Youth-focused organizations are encouraged to apply for RBFF’s National Youth Fishing & Boating Initiative, which expands on the organization’s boating and fishing education outreach efforts. The application deadline is December 30, 2011.
“We’re looking for high-quality education programs that will not only introduce children and their families to boating, fishing and conservation, but also foster continued participation,” said RBFF President and CEO Frank Peterson. “Our goal is to create future lifetime boaters and anglers who will respect and care for our aquatic natural resources. We urge both new and existing programs to apply.”
Key requirements of RBFF’s education grant guidelines include introducing boating and fishing to minorities and underserved communities. Special consideration will be given to programs that offer multiple on-the-water learning opportunities, encourage long-term involvement of participants, foster multi-generational participation, promote conservation education, support existing RBFF partnerships and are inclusive in their programming. Since 2007, RBFF education grants have reached more than 680,000 children.
To download the Grant Guidelines and Application and learn more about RBFF’s National Youth Fishing & Boating Initiative, visit RBFF.org. Grant applications must be submitted on or before December 30, 2011. Applicants will be notified in April 2012.
A list of the 2011 grant recipients is also available on RBFF.org.
Thank you to the Senate and sponsor Senator Pippy for passage of Resolution 143. This directs the Legislative Budget and Finance Committee to undertake an economic impact analysis of PA Water Trails.
Recreational trails have a huge and measurable impact on local communities and they contribute substantially to Pennsylvania’s tourism industry, which is the 2nd largest industry in the Commonwealth. We have a variety of very good examples of economic impact studies and trail user surveys that estimate the impact of land trails on local communities. The Great Allegheny Passage, for example, is estimated to have a $40 million annual direct spending and $7.5 million additional in wages attributable to the trail market in trail towns along the trail. We do not, however, have any examples of the economic impact of water trails on local communities yet we know that there are water trail users out there and communities who are engaging in water trail development.
Undertaking this analysis is one of the key recommendations of the recently completed Statewide Comprehensive Outdoor Recreation Plan (2009-2013) to “Conduct an economic impact analysis to benchmark the economic impact of water trails.” This information will inform public and private efforts to increase water trail development in the Commonwealth and to maintain the Commonwealth’s position as a recognized national leader in water trail development.
An economic impact analysis of recreational water trails on local communities will help to guide the future of the PA Water Trails Program, which the Pennsylvania Environmental Council (PEC) manages with the PA Department of Conservation & Natural Resources, the PA Fish & Boat Commission and the National Park Service, and future investments in water trails and local communities.
Are you interested in developing a non-motorized boat access point? Here is a link to a system that was developed in the Allegheny National Forest and implemented at two access points along the Clarion River Water Trail. More information about developing boat access is available on this page. For more information about the Clarion River Water Trail please find a link to the water trail map and guide on the PA Fish & Boat Commission’s web site.
The PA Fish & Boat Commission just amended various boating regulations. One important regulation included a new regulation about life jackets.
As part of the regulation changes approved today, boaters will be required,
beginning Nov. 1, 2012, to wear life jackets on boats less than 16 feet in
length and on canoes and kayaks during the cold weather months from Nov. 1
through April 30. The change is intended to protect boaters from the dangers of
coldwater shock if they fall into the water.
“While boating accidents are more frequent during the traditional summer
season, the risk of an accident being fatal is significantly higher when the air
and water temperatures are colder in late fall through spring,” said Laurel
Anders, director of the Bureau of Boating and Access. “Over the last 15 years,
cold-water incidents represented only eight percent of boating-related
accidents, but resulted in 24 percent of the fatalities.”
The release about all of the amendments is available here.
The Pennsylvania Land Trust Association (PALTA) recently announced the publication of model documents that can be used for fishing and boating access. All documents are available here. Use to provide public access to or along a waterway for fishing, boating or other recreational and educational uses. This model legal instrument may be used as a stand-alone document or may be coupled with a Grant of Conservation Easement to provide natural resource protections as well. The commentary to PALTA’s Model Trail Easement Agreement doubles as the commentary to this model.
On June 2 Deputy Secretary of the Interior David J. Hayes announced the designation of the Susquehanna River Water Trail – West Branch as a National Recreation Trail, one of 41 trails totaling almost 650 miles being added to the National Trails System. These land and water trails provide opportunities for communities to connect with nature and enjoy the great outdoors as part of a healthier lifestyle, the core principles behind President Obama’s
America’s Great Outdoors and First Lady Michelle Obama’s Let’s Move Outside! initiatives. The West Branch water trail was recognized as one of only two National Recreation Trails designated this year in Pennsylvania. The trail joins a statewide network of 67 National Recreation Trails totaling more than 2300 miles.
