Chesapeake Bay Executive Council Approves Local Initiative
(Continued from Pago A 32)
to be framed to develop future
goals and recommend policy for a
basinwide effort to protect, main
tain and restore “riparian forest
buffers”
The word "riparian” is an adjec
tive used to describe something
living or located along the banks of
a waterway, or a standing body of
water.
While during the 1970 s many in
agriculture were encouraged by
the federal government to expand
tillable land through the drainage
of wetlands, the removal of fence
lines, etc., many also eliminated
streamside forested areas.
The typical waterway in Pen
nsylvania historically was a forest
waterway, with mature trees and
the canopies providing bank stabil
ization, protection of water from
direct sun and thus overheating,
and providing a higher constant
humidity and ground-air
temperature.
Even though forest plants do
transpire and cause some evapora
tion of water, die water-retaining
effects of a forest allows for a more
reliable capture of rainwater and
release into streams, instead of the
current flooding that occurs with
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human construction techniques
and existing storm water drainage
systems.
During long periods of heat, leaf
canopies protect the ground and
water from direct solar heating,
reducing thermals and thus exces
sive losses of water from a
watershed.
Through natural environmental
dynamics, the loss of forested
areas can be counted on to result in
more variable water availability,
or in other words, a situation of
flooding or drought
The statewide deforestation that
occured throughout Pennsylvania
during the slate’s lumber heydays
destroyed the capability and
capacity of many huge and small
streams and rivers to host many
important fish species.
Some of those species, such as
the brook trout, are now raised by
the state and private concerns
which control some of the states
largest springheads.
Those fish raised at large annual
costs in some of the best quality
water in the state are stocked into
some of the worst quality streams
to provide recreation.
This is done despite the fact that
because of the loss of protective
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forest buffers and other related
water quality problems, most fish
stocked in these low quality
streams, if not all. are expected to
die by summer because of high
water temperatures.
While agriculture has fairly well
reversed its trend of degrading
streams by removing trees and
other riparian forest plants from
along the banks and floodplains,
urban sprawl and other types of
development have been adding to
the problem by infiltrating into
previously little-touched areas.
These are areas that were left
untouched until now because they
are marginal if not poor places to
construct dwellings or conduct
agrarian enterprise.
Those seeking to build homes
for a profit face limited and costly
areas as sites for new .residential
development
However, with extensions of
public sewer and water lines and
rezoning if necessary to suit the
needs of a developer, many of
these forested riparian areas are
being lost or are being poorly
developed.
According to a summary of the
report on the progress of the ripa
rian forest directive, a 30-member
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group has been created to develop
those goals and recommend policy
for riparian buffers.
The panel’s members represent
federal, stale and local govern
ment, citizens, scientists, agricul
ture, developers, and those con
cerned primarily with the health of
the environment
During 1996, the panel is to hold
a series of forums to discuss issues,
hold meetings with special interest
groups represented on the panel,
and report recommendations back
to the Chesapeake Executive
Council.
The panel’s mission is to recom
mend a comprehensive policy and
strategy to enhance overall ste
wardship of streambank areas,
retention of riparian forests where
they exist and restoration where
Farm Bureau Requests
Milk Price Increase
HARRISBURG (Dauphin
Co.) —The drought in Pennsylva
nia played havoc with milk pro
duction costs and dairymen lose
money every time they milk to
market. This was the summation
of a dairy expert requesting a milk
price increase for dairymen at a
hearing held here today by the
Pennsylvania Milk Marketing
Board (PMMB).
Melvin Eckhaus, dairy special
ist for the Pennsylvania Farm
Bureau, presented testimony to
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needed.
The panel is also to develop
measurable goals based on sound
science; recommend flexible
strategies that consider real differ
ences in landscape, existing poli
cy, environmental conditions, and
landowners concerns: focus first
on regulatory and incentive prog
rams and add voluntary as needed;
increase private and non-profit
participation: recognize the roles
of education, technical assistance,
training, and continued research;
and be responsive to the landowner
while ensuring that the regulated
are involved.
The panel is to meet every four
to six weeks and hold additional
workshops, issue forums and publ
ic meetings to discuss specific
aspects of the work.
the state regulatory agency saying
farmers should have a price
increase of 25 cents per hundred
weight of milk, because of
increased cattle feed costs. The
drought, starting in August,
caused cattle feed prices to
increase because of the crop shor
tages, the dairy expert said.
Eckhaus cited figures from the
PA Agricultural Statistics Service
(PASS) which reveals farmers lost
money for the 12 months ending
September 1995. “This
means that the average
Pennsylvania farmer
lost money for every
hundredweight of milk
they produced,” he testi
fied. PASS figures do
not include any finan
cial returns for manage
ment and the equity cap
ital of the farm, nor the
cost of federal govern
ment assessments. If
these cost items were
included, Eckhaus said,
farmer losses would be
even greater.
Shortages of feed
crops and increased feed
purchases will have its
most dramatic effect on
the dairymen during the
winter months, accord
ing to Eckhaus. The
Pennsylvania Farm
Bureau conducted a
survey of dairymen in
October which esti
mated the cost of pur
chased feed would
increase more than 18
cents per hundred
weight of milk.
“The total cost of
milk production for far
mers for the 12 months
ending September 199 S
is $16.87 per hundred
weight. The average
price received by far
mers was -$13.49 per
hundredweight. That’s a
loss for the average
dairyman of $3.38 cents
per hundredweight,”
-according to Eckhaus.
Citing figures from
the U.S. Department of
Agriculture (USDA),
Eckhaus noted that the
supplies of fluid milk
are tight nationwide. In
fact, he said, USDA
announced its estimate
of Commodity Credit
Corporation (CCC)
purchases in 1996 to be
(T|irn to Pago A 3 6)