Explore the First State with the Delaware Estuary Explorers Program
Explore the natural beauty of the First State this summer. While you’re at it, snap a picture, upload it to Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram, and include the hashtag #DelawareEstuaryExplorers in your post. Each post is an entry to win one of the following cool prizes. Go to www.delawareestuary.org/explorers for more information.
Congratulations, Halo! The new 2022 Clean Water Spokesdog.
Congratulations, Halo!
H
alo, a pit bull terrier mix, won this year’s Clean Water Spokesdog competition by getting the most likes on social media throughout the contest, which ran through the month of May. For the next year, she’ll be Water Woman’s sidekick and canine representative for clean water!
As Spokesdog, Halo will teach Philadelphians about the impact dog waste can have on local waterways, and that responsible pet owners always pick up after their dogs. Many people don’t realize that dog waste is a pollutant, with each deposit containing roughly 3 billion bacteria. Unlike cow or horse waste, dog poop cannot be used as fertilizer and should never be left to decompose naturally. Especially in developed urban areas like Philadelphia, dog waste can wash into nearby storm drains during rain events. These drains lead directly to local waterways, such as the Delaware and Schuylkill Rivers, Philadelphia’s very own drinking water sources. The new Spokesdog will have a tall order ahead of them to keep our waterways clean, but this year’s contestants are up to the task!
For more information, please visit phillyh2o.info/pet-waste or delawareestuary.org/manage-dog-waste.
Read our New Strategic Plan
What does PDE have planned for clean waters, healthy habitats, and strong communities? What are its goals from now through 2026? Our 21-page strategic plan is now available for view.
We Had a Great Time at the Delaware River Festival
We had a wonderful time at this year’s Delaware River Festival, and we hope you did too! The online presentations are still available to watch on Facebook, YouTube, and on the festival’s official website at www.delawareriverfest.org.
See you next year!
Take a Fun Quiz
How much do you know about the Delaware Estuary and the things that are in it? Test your knowledge and maybe learn something too!
See Our Story Map
What are living shorelines? What role do they play in environmental science? Partnership for the Dela
ware Estuary has a spectacular new story map that tells you all about the Delaware Estuary Living Shorelines Initiative (DELSI). Click HERE to see.
Celebrating the Lewes Canal Living Shoreline
Partnership for the Delaware Estuary, along with the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control, Delaware Wetlands, The city of Lewes Beach, and the Lewes Historical Society recently celebrated a 180-foot addition to a living shoreline at the Lewes Canal in Delaware.
Read more here.
Spokesdog 2021
Congratulations, Lucy!
The
Philadelphia Water Department has a new spokesdog. It’s Lucy, who won the online spokesdog competition with the most “likes” on social media. She will be PWD’s spokesdog for dog waste education for 2021.
Check out our new WATCH Tool
Have a wetland issue? Check your WATCH
The Wetland Assessment Tool for Condition and Health (WATCH) is a tool to provide guidance to restoration practitioners in evaluating multiple aspects of current and future tidal salt marsh conditions. The ultimate goal of WATCH is to provide a method to evaluate the weight of evidence regarding ecological deficiency at a site to inform thoughtful decision-making in the context of different management goals and the appropriate selection of restoration tactics.
Click HERE to view the WATCH page on this website.
2021 Philly Spokesdog Competition
Who Will Be the Next Philadelphia Water Department Spokesdog?
YOU decide!
Partnership for the Delaware Estuary and the Philadelphia Water Department have teamed up with Philly-area animal shelters for its Spokesdog contest. Morris Animal Refuge, PAWS (Philadelphia Animal Welfare Society), Pennsylvania SPCA and Animal Care and Control Team of Philadelphia (ACCT).
From now through May 26, go to PDE’s Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter pages (our handle is @DelawareEstuary) and vote for your choice for Spokesdog by “liking” the dog’s picture. After May 26, we’ll tally the votes across social media platforms and crown the new Spokesdog 2021!
The 2021 Spokesdog will spend the year helping Philadelphia Water Department educate the public about properly disposing of dog waste.
SAN’s New Action Plan is Available
The Schuylkill Action Network (SAN) has a new plan with ambitious environmental goals for the next five years.
By 2025, the group hopes to preserve 5,000 acres within the Schuylkill River Watershed, remove 5 million pounds of trash, and have $500 million in infrastructure investment in the watershed, and that’s just a few of the plan’s many goals.
The newly published plan, which took two years to develop, is a significant step for the group. Although the SAN has had a strategic plan since its inception in 2003, this is its first strategic action plan. The plan identifies a clear set of values and overarching progress targets for its main focus areas — agriculture, abandoned mine drainage, stormwater, land, point source pollution, and engagement and stewardship. Values fall under the categories of action, collaboration, resilience, leadership, equity, and science, which will permeate through all SAN planning, processes, and projects through 2025 and beyond. Goals all fall under a set of overarching categories, protect and restore, educate and engage, collaborate and finance.
SAN will evaluate its progress by reviewing the progress of annual workgroup and committee plans and producing a yearly progress report that it will share among partners and the public. To learn more about the new Strategic Action Plan, visit www.SchuylkillWaters.org/about-us/strategic-plan or contact SAN Coordinator Erica Rossetti at erossetti@delawareestuary.org.
The Schuylkill Action Network is a collaborative network of over 100 partner organizations working together to improve water resources in the Schuylkill River watershed, all of which participated in the strategic planning process for the next five years.
Watch our Latest Wetlands Video
Our latest wetlands video is now available to watch! See what PDE has been up to in the world of tidal wetlands.
The migration or transgression of salt marshes upland and into the fringes of adjacent coastal forests is a natural process as sea levels rise. What is less understood is the effects of the processes driving the transgression on the health of the trees in these forests. PDE aims to better understand these processes and their impact through an analysis of water levels, salinity, and tree core data.
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