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<br />1999 National
<br />Watershed Awards
<br />Spotlight
<br />Outstanding
<br />Volunteer Projects
<br />(continued)
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<br />0, 0 '" ','- 6
<br />10;'-)
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<br />North Branch of the Chicago River Demonstration Project
<br />
<br />Through the North Branch of the Chicago River Demonstration Project, the Friends of the
<br />Chicago River and the Lake County Stormwater Management Commission joined to develop a
<br />plan to address NPS pollution and flooding while educating and involving citizens and
<br />community leaders in the process. The result was an urban watershed planning model that any city
<br />can use to protect its water resources.
<br />
<br />This 96-square-mile watershed was affected by storm water runoff from two counties and 24
<br />towns. The partners in the North Branch of the Chicago River Demonstration Project divided the
<br />project into four tasks - developing a watershed plan, conducting an information and education
<br />campaign, developing a handbook to guide them through the process, and conducting a series of
<br />demonstration projects.
<br />
<br />For more information, contact David Ramsay, Friends of the Chicago River, 407 South Dearborn, Suite
<br />1580, Chicago, IL 60605. Phone: (312) 939-0409, ext. 21; e-mail: dramsay@chicagoriver.org.
<br />
<br />Friends of the Rappahannock
<br />
<br />A group of forward-thinking residents in Virginia's Rappahannock watershed organized themselves
<br />into the Friends of the Rappahannock (FOR) to combat,the river's problems - sediments,
<br />nutrients, and other pollutants from development and agriculture, and a dam that blocked fish
<br />passage to spawning waters. As FOR, these determined citizens got the river designated a State
<br />Scenic River, set up a citizen water quality monitoring program, constructed several wetland
<br />biofilters to treat parking lot runoff, produced a green guidebook for developers and builders, and
<br />spurred the removal of a 1 50-year-old dam.
<br />For more information, contact John Tippett, Executive Director, Friends of the Rappahannock, Po. Box
<br />7254 Fredericksburg, VA 22404. Phone: (540) 373-3448; e-mail: cleanriver@pobox.com
<br />
<br />Dow Chemical Company
<br />
<br />The Dow Chemical Company's Saginaw Bay Watershed Initiative Network (WIN), funded by 12
<br />private and community foundations, initiates and implements projects to improve the quality of
<br />life in the Saginaw Bay watershed using sustainable development concepts. The Saginaw Bay
<br />watershed in Michigan contains the largest contiguous freshwater coastal wetland system in the
<br />United States. WIN has assigned Task Groups to develop projects that address several major
<br />watershed issues, including land use, agriculture/pollution prevention, water resources,
<br />communication, youth, wildlife stewardship, and marketing. Each Task Group sets measurable
<br />goals and identifies projects to meet those goals. WIN Task Groups have launched projects to
<br />protect habitat, improve access to the bay, foster nature-based tourism, inform people about NPS
<br />pollution, and support sustainable agriculture. The WIN program empowers the watershed
<br />residents to help themselves and supply funding for innovative programs. The program is a natural
<br />extension of Dow's philosophy of investing in its communities - and encouraging the
<br />communities to invest in themselves.
<br />For more information, contact Cindy Newman, Public Affairs, The Dow Chemical Company, 47 Building,
<br />Midland, M148687. Phone: (517) 836-5783; e-mail: cnewman@dow.com. Or visit the WIN web site at
<br />www.saginawbaywin.org.
<br />
<br />[For more information on the National Watershed Awards, contact CF Industries, Inc., 1401 Eye Street,
<br />NW, Suite 340, Washington, DC 20005. Phone: (202) 371-9279; fax: (202) 371-9169; web site:
<br />www.cfindustries.comlcommrelations/watershed/watershed.htm.]
<br />
<br />Watershed Protection Training
<br />
<br />Every day local municipal officials, planning boards, city and county councils, and city managers
<br />around the country are confronted with complex issues relating to urban runoff, best management
<br />practices, and the protection of streams, lakes, and wetlands. To help provide objective and
<br />practical information on better site design and watershed planning programs to urbanizing
<br />communities, the Center for Watershed Protection conducts interactive workshops around the
<br />country teaching planners, developers, local officials, regulators, and other stakeholders about the
<br />benefits of watershed planning and innovative site design techniques. One workshop in Lancaster,
<br />Pennsylvania, in December 1999 attracted more than 50 registrants from watershed associations,
<br />conservation offices, the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, universities, and
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<br />NONPOINT SOURCE NEWS-NOTES
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<br />MARCH 2OOO,ISSUE 160
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