Photo: The Conservation Fund
Section 2. Schuylkill Resources That Need Protection or Enhancement
OVERVIEW
Our vision of the Schuylkill is changing. Once a nearly forgotten post-industrial
polluted river, we now recognize its potential as a significant resource of
regional and national importance. Through public and nonprofit efforts, many
of them collaborative, numerous initiatives are underway to protect, restore
or enhance the Schuylkill River and its tributaries. They include:
- Projects that restore parts of the Schuylkill as a free-flowing river system, enabling the movement of native fish species such as the American shad.
- Projects that protect and restore streamside vegetation and wetlands, which are essential to healthy streams and wildlife habitat.
- Projects that help establish a network of greenways and other permanently protected conservation lands in the watershed.
- Projects that propose strategies for an integrated approach to managing surface and groundwaters. These are especially important to communities under suburban development pressures.
- Projects that preserve and restore the watershed’s heritage, such as historic buildings and sections of the old Schuylkill Canal.
- Projects that reinvest in historic riverfront communities and the City of Philadelphia, in ways that will enhance quality of life.
- Projects that build an interconnected network of land and water trails following the Schuylkill and extending into its tributaries.
Most of these initiatives are ambitious in that they require considerable funding, expertise and time. Some began to take shape decades ago, while others are very recent or still in the early planning stage.
Perhaps most promising is a shift in thinking from fragmented remedial actions to correct old problems to actions reflecting a much more positive and comprehensive vision that the Schuylkill has much to offer to present and future generations.
Site Design: Tevlin & Clarke
