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U.Va.’s
Institute For Environmental Negotiation Offers New Handbook To Help
Local Governments Protect Streams October 11, 2002-- As communities grapple with drought and shrinking water supplies, they are beginning to understand the need to plan now for sustainable and clean water supplies in the future. To help local governments devise effective strategies for protecting their streams, the University of Virginia’s Institute for Environmental Negotiation has produced a new book. The 63-page publication, “A Stream Corridor Protection Strategy for Local Governments,” was funded by grants from the Chesapeake Bay Program and the Virginia Environmental Endowment. The handbook is designed to help states within the Chesapeake Bay’s 64,000-square-mile drainage basin implement many facets of the Chesapeake 2000 agreement, signed by the governors of Virginia, Maryland and Pennsylvania, the mayor of Washington, D.C., and the administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. For example, the handbook can help the states reach Chesapeake 2000 goals, such as creating 2,010 additional miles of forested stream buffers by 2010 and creating locally devised watershed plans covering at least two-thirds of the bay’s drainage basin. "The protection and restoration of stream corridors throughout the bay watershed is crucial to improving local water quality," said EPA's Chesapeake Bay Program Director Rebecca Hanmer. "By highlighting successful restoration programs from other parts of the bay region, we hope to accelerate restoration efforts watershed-wide." The handbook is a collaborative project with government staff of all the bay states. It describes how to devise an effective stream protection strategy, provides tools such as how to use zoning to protect local streams, gives case studies of successful projects and tells how to engage the local community. “Without clean, healthful and plentiful water, states within the bay region will not continue to thrive,” said Karen Firehock, IEN senior associate. “This handbook gives local governments practical tools that they can employ now to protect local water supplies, provide a healthy environment and ensure the livability of local communities through healthy waterways.” Printed copies of the handbook are available from IEN for $8, which includes shipping, or $7 for multiple copies. Free PDF copies are available on the institute’s Web site at: http://www.virginia.edu/~envneg/ien_projects_featured.htm. ### For details about the publication, contact Karen Firehock, (434) 924-1970 or kef8w@virginia.edu. ### Media contact: Jane Ford, (434) 924-4298 |
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ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: Contact the Office
of University Relations at (434) 924-7116. Television reporters
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