Pennsylvania hopes to encourage 10,000 landowners to create stream-side buffers
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The riparian buffer at the headwaters of Steele’s Run in Murrysville mostly offers aesthetic benefits.
But, each year, its physical value will continue to grow as it protects the cold-water fishery stream from erosion, provides shade, cools the stream and offers a habitat for native wildlife.
Officials with the state’s Department of Conservation and Natural Resources hope to spur 10,000 Pennsylvania landowners to bring those same benefits to their properties.
DCNR officials this month announced the “Buffer My Stream” program to help educate and encourage landowners to consider a stream-side buffer to help improve water quality and lessen erosion by planting native trees and shrubs along the water’s edge.
“Stream-side buffers are a natural way for agricultural and residential landowners to create cleaner water and improve the stewardship of their land. Not all eligible landowners are aware of their value — and the purpose of this outreach is to bridge that gap,” DCNR Secretary Cindy Adams Dunn said. “We want to make it easy for landowners to understand the benefits of stream-side buffers and connect them with funding and experts available to guide them through the process.”
More than 300 trees and bushes have been planted along Steele’s Run near the Murrysville Community Park dog park, paid for through a combination of state funding and donations from Dominion Energy and Olympus Energy.
“As far as benefits for the buffer, it’s early on,” said Carly Greene, Murrysville’s recreation director. “A lot of buffers can take up to 20 years to show real improvements.”
One major problem the buffer can solve is erosion.
“When it did rain, it would overflow its banks and that whole area would be wet and boggy,” Greene said. “So reinforcing the stream with the proper and adequate foliage was important to help keep the stream cool, and to help the wildlife in it.”
Murrysville is no stranger to creeks and streams overflowing their banks.
“There are a lot of wet areas around here, a lot of little streams running through people’s properties,” Greene said. “And, if they’re protected properly, people aren’t going to lose the soil from their yard. It definitely helps control erosion.”
DCNR is committing $1.5 million to stream-side buffer plantings in 2020.
“While the efforts that are being taken to slow down the impacts of covid-19 prevented some partner and volunteer plantings this spring, we are looking to the fall — which also is a good time for planting trees and shrubs — with all the necessary social distancing and safety measures in place,” Dunn said.
During the past four years, DCNR has provided $7.6 million in grants for stream-side forest buffers, making it easier for landowners to install them on their properties to improve water quality in their backyards and beyond.
Landowners are encouraged to contact DCNR for assistance with buffer design and funding by calling 717-705-2820 or through DCNR’s online contact form.