“I felt quite honored to be recognized by this organization and the business community for the great work of our dedicated staff and many generous volunteers,” said Shuey.  “It was validation for me that our business leaders understand the important role our natural resources play in the quality of life of our growing and vibrant community.”

       
ClearWater Conservancy was formed in 1980 with the mission of promoting the conservation and restoration of natural resources in central Pennsylvania through land conservation, water resources protection, and environmental outreach to the community.

For the Love of Art & Chocolate
ClearWater Conservancy, Centre County-based nonprofit land trust and natural resource conservation organization, hosted its 9^th annual “For the Love of Art and Chocolate” event on Jan. 25, 2007 and it was a big success!  The event attracted more than 450 guests and raised over $18,000 for ClearWater’s future natural resource conservation projects—it was the most beautiful and successful to date.

       
The evening was a classy fête in the President’s Hall of the Penn Stater Conference Center Hotel, where guests sampled chocolate desserts donated from local businesses, bid on nature-inspired artwork created by local artists and mingled with other conservation supporters accompanied by the soft jazz of Jazza-Ma-Phone.

       
ClearWater’s For the Love of Art & Chocolate planning committee has already begun discussing next year’s event and hopes to make several improvements. This year the celebration was back at the Penn Stater to accommodate the tremendous turnout, and the new venue provides room for even more growth in the future.

       
“At this year’s event, it was clear that this party is getting more popular every time we host it,” said Jennifer Shuey, Executive Director at ClearWater.   "Judging from the great crowd, we will need to get even more chocolate there next year!”

Raffle Winners
Congratulations to Chris Finton, the winner of the Jennifer Kane original 30" x 40" oil painting of Musser Gap.  Our grateful thanks to Jennifer Kane for sharing her talent in support of natural resource conservation in the heart of Pennsylvania!

Congratulations to Jerry Wettstone, the winner of the Desert Rug raffle for a 5' x 10' Authentic Persian Bakhtiari Rug.  Many thanks to the Desert Rug Company for their continued generous support!

Adventures in Conservation program: 

Woodcock and salamanders at Scotia Barrens
Hosted by James Julian, Penn State-University Park and Carolyn Mahan, Penn State Altoona
Join us Tuesday March 18^th for an evening of wildlife viewing at Scotia barrens.
At dusk we will watch the dramatic woodcock courtship display and then we will observe migrating and breeding salamanders and other amphibians at the barren’s many vernal pools.  The event will start at the Scotia range at 6:30 pm  and end at 9:00 pm.  Please bring rain gear, appropriate footwear, flashlights/headlamps, buckets and nets (if you have them).  We will hold the event rain or shine!

This event will be limited to 30 participants so please RSVP by March 14^th to Sarah at the ClearWater Conservancy office at [email protected] or 237-0400. 

ClearWater receives funding for Barrens Assessment
The link below announces the funding from the PA Wild Resource Conservation Program.  We received $15,000 to define scrub oak barrens of central Pennsylvania; map parcels and identify private and public segments for conservation and restoration... An integral part of our new Conservation Action Plan. 

http://www.dcnr.state.pa.us/news/resource/res2008/08-0130-wrcpgrants.aspx

We have also received a $13,500 grant from the Huplits Foundation for this work. 

Connections scholarships to Millbrook Marsh Nature Center
ClearWater Conservancy awarded $4,686 in funding to 9 local schools for spring field trips to Millbrook Marsh Nature Center.  Award recipients include:  first graders from Mountain Top and Wingate Elementary Schools in the Bald Eagle School District, the Penns Valley seventh grade, the Bellefonte sixth grade, first graders from Our Lady of Victory Catholic School, students from two charter schools - Young Scholars of Central Pennsylvania and Nittany Valley Charter School, and children at the Cooperative Play School and the Park Forest Day Nursery.  Altogether, 663 children will have the opportunity to learn about their local environment through ClearWater's long-standing "Students~Communities~Streams~Connections" program, which pays the $5 per student fees at the Nature Center and the costs of transporting the children to and from the field trip. 

Thanks to State of the Art for contributing to the spring field trips.  If you or your business would like to contribute towards this exceptional program, please send your contributions to ClearWater Conservancy, 2555 North Atherton Street, State College, PA  16803.  Please note Connections in the memo line.  For a contribution of $250, you can "adopt" a classroom.  Or choose a multiple of $250, and increase the number of students that you can reach in this meaningful way.  When you see their faces on these field trips, you know that this is an experience they will remember for a lifetime.

Watershed Cleanup Day 2008
The date for this year's event is Saturday, April 19.  Cleanups will be held at a variety of sinkholes, illegal dumpsites, streams, and roadsides by a huge team of volunteers.  A picnic will follow the morning's work at Millbrook Marsh Nature Center. 

To get involved in the committee, to suggest a cleanup site, or to get your group on the list of volunteers, please contact Geoff Smith at [email protected] or (814) 237-0400. 

"Going Green with ClearWater Conservancy" Night at the State College Spikes
July 18, 2008 (Friday)

7:05 pm
Medlar Field at Lubrano Park

$9.00 per Field Box Ticket (ClearWater receives $2 per ticket!)  Tri-City Valley Cats vs. State College Spikes.

Watch for upcoming details... early plans include:

• A "Green-Out"... everybody wears green!
• A ClearWater Conservancy display on the concourse.
• A raffle for a box at an upcoming Spikes home game.  Includes 20 tickets and VIP parking... a $600 value!
  

To reserve your tickets, call Sarah Edge at ClearWater Conservancy at (814) 237-0400 or email [email protected].

www.StateCollegeSpikes.com

<<Green Out flyer 1-08.pdf>>

News from other community partners…

From Moshannon Group Sierra Club and Penn State Center for Sustainability...

How do renewable energy sources compare?

Post-Fossil-Carbon Energy Strategies:
Confronting the Bogeymen and Doing Some Math

Thursday, February 28th at 7pm
in 119 Osmond Building, University Park Campus

With Dr. Richard Schuhmann

For more information, visit www.engr.psu.edu/cfs
Sponsored by the Moshannon Group Sierra Club and the Penn State Center for Sustainability

Post-Fossil-Carbon Energy Strategies: Confronting the Bogeymen and Doing Some Math

Are you prepared for regime change in Canada and Mexico in order to grow the corn we need to feed our cars? How about nuclear energy programs in every country in the world? Who are the bogeymen that are chasing us into our energy future?

Come join us for a lecture by Dr. Rick Schuhmann who will discuss the fears driving how many of us view our energy future, and provide an analysis of the capacity of alternative energy technologies to provide us with a new energy paradigm.

Dr. Schuhmann will discuss solar, wind, hydrogen, nuclear, and biomass energy sources and some of the latest economic policies associated with the development of these important alternatives. Learn about hidden costs, resource limitations and some of the numbers behind the current hype.

Dr. Schumann's Bio:

Dr. Rick Schuhmann began teaching environmental engineering at Penn State University in 1998. Since 2005 he has been the Director of Penn State's Engineering Leadership Program. He regularly consults with law firms and community groups on environmental issues. Schuhmann received a B.S. in Geology from the University of New Hampshire, an M.S. in Environmental Engineering from the University of Houston, and a Ph.D. in Environmental Engineering from Penn State.

Before coming to Penn State, Schuhmann had a 10 year career working offshore New England and in the Gulf of Mexico, including marine geophysical surveying and oil and gas exploration and production operations.

Directions:

The Osmond Building (Lab) is Across from the HUB, on Pollock Road-
Campus Parking is available in the HUB Visitors parking lot, $1 an hour

Map of Osmond: http://www.our.psu.edu/soc_maps/osmond.html
Map of Penn State Campus http://www.campusmaps.psu.edu/explore/index.shtml

From Penn State Cooperative Extension...

Central Region Forest Landowners Conference

Planned for Saturday, March 8, 2008

Penn State Cooperative Extension, in cooperation with Penn State School of Forest Resources, the DCNR Bureau of Forestry, the Woodland Owners of Centre County, the North Central Forest Landowners Association, and the Clearfield/Jefferson Counties Forest Stewardship Committee are providing an educational conference specifically for forest landowners and managers to learn and discuss forest and wildlife management on private forest lands. The conference is scheduled from 9:00 am - 4:00 pm., Saturday, March 8, 2008, at the Penn State School of Forest Resources Building, University Park, PA.

Forests cover nearly 60% or over 17 million acres of Pennsylvania. Over 750,000 private forest landowners own approximately 75% (12.5 million acres) of this land. Forests provide us with many benefits including wood products, wildlife habitat, places to recreate, and beautiful vistas. They also give us clean water by protecting watersheds and clean air by removing carbon dioxide. Forests are also vital to the economy of Pennsylvania. The forest products industry is the fourth largest industry in the state, employing over 90,000 workers in 2,500 firms and contributes almost 5 billion dollars to the state’s economy annually. To continue providing these benefits into the future forests must receive proper management.

Conference participants will learn about: abandoned mine reforestation, forest insects and diseases, invasive plant species, fisher reintroductions, woodlot management, forest finance, timber marketing, wood energy, forest conservation, and more.

To register or for more information contact Dave Jackson at the Centre County Cooperative Extension office at 814-355-4897 or Tim Pierson at the McKean County Cooperative Extension Office at 814-887-5613. The registration fee is $30.00 which covers speakers, breaks, a luncheon and educational materials. The deadline for registration is Friday, February 29. Participants must be pre-registered.

From Dave Gilbert...
The Pennsylvania Game Commission is conducting a series of Citizen's Advisory Committee meetings in February and March including areas that are within the Spring Creek Watershed (Wildlife Management Unit 4D). As part of these meetings local citizens were invited to represent specific view points including hunting, agriculture and conservation to name just a few. Representatives from the Conservation view point would like to gain your input for the next CAC meeting by having you complete the PGC's deer survey. These questions ask your opinion of the current deer population and if the numbers should be increased, decreased or remain the same. The consensus of all CAC members will be ultimately talllied with (1) deer embryo counts - birth rate and (2) forest regeneration numbers to determine the overall management recommendation. Currently the embryo count for this area is 1.6 and forest regeneration is at 53%.

If you would like to complete a survey electronically, please use the attached document and email it to: [email protected] or you may print out the survey, complete it and mail it to PO Box 118 Madisonburg, PA 16852 Your participation is greatly appreciated for the health of the deer herd and habitat in Spring Creek Watershed.

David B. Gilbert
GIS Manager
GeoDecisions
www.GeoDecisions.com
cell: 814-360-4150
office: (814)234-8625 ext 26
2601 Gateway Drive
State College, PA 16801
<<2008 4D Individual Stakeholder Opinion Worksheet (2).doc>>

From Shaver's Creek Environmental Center...
Shaver's Creek has received a $100,000 challenge grant from the Pennsylvania DCNR to build two new pavilions and an ADA-accessible trail to the lake. For the full story on Penn State Live, go to http://live.psu.edu/story/27935?nw=63.

WINTER PROGRAMS FOR KIDS & YOUTHS:
Kids Corner - a facilitated activity for preschoolers/toddlers and their parent(s)
Free, courtesy of Growing Tree Toys in downtown State College
Wednesdays, February 13, 20, 27, and March 5, 2008
10:00 a.m.-noon in the Discovery Room
(Note: The self-guided Kids Corner is available all week.)
Animal Physiology - How do they really work?
Sunday, February 24, 2008
Time: Noon-4:00 p.m.
Ages: 15-17
Members: $8
Nonmembers: $12
Badges: None listed