×

ISC may seek $500K from NFWF

The Intergovernmental Stormwater Committee may apply to the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation for a $500,000 grant to help pay for a proposed streambank stabilization project at Sylvan HIlls Golf Course.

A rough draft of the project along Brush Run has already found favor with NFWF by potentially improving fish habitat, according to ISC stormwater coordinator Chelsey Weyant.

Brush Run is a tributary of the Beaverdam Branch of the Juniata River, and a riparian buffer — trees and other plants — along the bank could keep the water cooler, Weyant said.

Currently, golf course workers mow grass to the strambank, so there’s not much shade on the water, which leads to it becoming warmer, reducing the level of dissolved oxygen and making it harder on the fish, according to Weyant.

Trees planted along the banks would provide shade.

The work would take place along 1,800 feet of stream.

Stabilizing the streambank with the plantings should reduce sediment runoff by 70,000 pounds per year.

The committee is about halfway to its goal of a 1.4 million pounds per year reduction in sediment runoff, as set by its five-year permit from the state Department of Environmental Protection.

The permit expires in 2023.

The committee is asking for the maximum amount allowed for an “implementation grant” under NFWF’s Small Watershed Grants Program.

The total cost of the project is about $759,000, according to Weyant.

The willingness of the committee to provide the rest of the money for the project could help its cause with NFWF, she said.

The committee received a $664,000 Nutrient and Sediment Reduction Grant from NFWF in 2021.

Mirror Staff Writer William Kibler is at 814-949-7038.

NEWSLETTER

Today's breaking news and more in your inbox

I'm interested in (please check all that apply)
Are you a paying subscriber to the newspaper? *
   

COMMENTS

Starting at $4.39/week.

Subscribe Today