Update On Smith Creek Cleanup Set For Tuesday

Smith Creek interest groups will gather Tuesday for the next in a series of meetings to highlight the progress of the creek’s cleanup effort and address new strategies in the ongoing effort.

The public is invited to the event, scheduled to run from 10 a.m. until about 2:30 p.m. at the Tenth Legion-Mountain Valley Ruritan Club in Tenth Legion.

State and federal officials who work locally with the creek will address everything from grazing and cover crops to education and outreach opportunities.

Of the nearly 290 miles of streams in the Smith Creek watershed, which covers more than 67,000 acres across Rockingham and Shenandoah counties, about 53 miles are impaired.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture designated three showcase watersheds, including the Smith Creek watershed, in June 2010. The watersheds were chosen to demonstrate how partnerships between farmers and other landowners, nonprofits, and local, state and federal agencies can help clean up the heavily polluted Chesapeake Bay. Smith Creek is part of the bay’s watershed.

Since the announcement, a team of more than 20 partners led by the USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service has helped farmers and residential landowners to voluntarily reduce nutrient and sediment runoff into the creek.
 

Contact Candace Sipos at 574-6275 or csipos@dnronline.com