clarks creek is to be preserved and enhanced

The mission of the Clarks Creek Watershed Preservation Association (CCWPA) is to preserve, protect and enhance the environmental integrity of Clarks Creek, and to advocate the conservation and sustainability of its natural resources while promoting restoration and safety within the watershed.

CCWPA Activities

We Need You on May 13 to Help Keep Trash out of the Watershed!

Our 23rd "Adopt-a-Highway" Trash pickup session occurs on Saturday, May 13, 2023, from 9 am to noon, with a Pizza Party afterwards.

As before, we will meet at Flemish Down, 1231 Clarks Valley Road, at 9 am, for orientation and distribution of masks, trash bags, recording clipboards and more.

We intend to scour both sides of our 2 miles of Route 325, so we need your help!

Use our CONTACT FORM to let us know you're interested in helping out, or send us an e-mail.

In case of inclement weather, we will e-mail all the volunteers about our rain date on May 20, so it's important you contact us.

2022 Annual Meeting

The 2022 ANNUAL MEETING/PICNIC of the Association was held on Saturday, September 10, 2022, at 1 pm, at Flemish Down — 1231 Clarks Valley Road, Dauphin. We had a quorum, elected Board Members, and discussed many important developments in the watershed. Some of us even swam!

As soon as the Minutes of this Annual Meeting are approved by the board, they will be posted for all to see and read.

We Had a Great Time in October 2022 Collecting Trash!

Our 22nd "Adopt-a-Highway" Trash pickup session was on Saturday, October 8, 2022, from 9 am to noon, with a Pizza Party afterwards.

As before, we met at Flemish Down, 1231 Clarks Valley Road, at 9 am, for orientation and distribution of masks, trash bags, recording clipboards and more.

Our intrepid volunteers scoured both sides of our 2 miles of Route 325, getting it all done in record time! Perhaps it is because of our consistent efforts, but all of us notice that the amount of trash has decreased, which is a very good thing!

We Had a Great Time Collecting Trash in June 2022!

Our 21st "Adopt-a-Highway" Trash pickup session on JUNE 4, 2022 was a great success.

Left to right in this photo: Natalie Mancharoff, Sonia Mancharoff, Annette Blum, Paula Zankel (CCWPA President), Sherry McLain (CCWPA Treasurer), Karen Stilp, Linda Mortorf, Michael Blum (CCWPA Secretary), Kyle Kuntz, Teresa Bender, Judy Kiser, Allison Kiser and Ben deBrunner.

We scoured both sides of our 2 miles of Route 325 and had a great time doing it on a perfectly lovely day. Some of us even went swimming afterwards!

OUR 20TH TRASH COLLECTION SESSION on MAY 8, 2021 —Helped Keep the Watershed Clean!

It's astounding but true — our Clarks Creek Watershed Preservation Association (CCWPA) Trash Collection Session in May was our 20th, and also our 10th Anniversary — our first Adopt-a-Highway Trash Collection effort was on May 2, 2011! Here is a photo of our crew on May 8, 2021 — 10 years later!

Adopt-a-Highway May 2021

PICTURED, LEFT TO RIGHT: Teresa Bender, Karen Stilp, Mary Hochendoner, Joe Lauver III, Denise Scotland, Ian Lauver, John Mimnall, Paula Zankel, Mike Blum and Sherry McLain.

Our 10 intrepid volunteers, led by Mike Blum, successfully scoured both sides of Route 325 between our two ADOPT-A-HIGHWAY SIGNS — thus about 4 miles of roadside!

CCWPA thanks everyone for volunteering on Saturday — a great time was had by all! We got it all done early, and well, filling 12 LARGE TRASH bags. Although it was a gloomy, cool morning, the weather certainly held up for us big time.

In ten years we've probably removed over 10,000 cigarette butts ... not to mention almost countless bottles, cans, bags, metal, plastic and even garbage. It has definitely improved the quality of the road, at least on our two-mile-long section.

2021 Annual Meeting Held

Our 2021 ANNUAL MEETING/PICNIC at Hagy Park on September 18, 2021, was fun, fun, fun!

We had a quorum, and elected Board Members, and discussed many important developments in the watershed.

As soon as the Minutes of this Annual Meeting are approved by the board, they will be posted for all to see and read.

ABOUT OUR CONTINUED EFFORTS TO STOP THE LDI Zoning Application (former HAGY FARM property)

The zoning of this tract, if changed from C-O to C-I, would allow the construction of a giant WAREHOUSE or even other things damaging to the watershed.

In brief:

The tract formerly known as "the Hagy Farm" (near the new 225 exit ramp off of 22/322; accessed from Hagy Lane on the west and Affection Road from the east) had been rezoned from R-A (residential/agricultural) to C-O (commercial/office) and R-3 high-density residential as part of a plan to build luxury apartments and a village-style development. The C-O zoning is surrounded by R-3 zoning, to Clarks Creek downhill to the north.

STOP THE HAGY FARM WAREHOUSE

We are very pleased to relate that the APPLICATION from LDI to rezone the property has been PERMANENTLY WITHDRAWN. If any change is desired in the future, the process will have to start from scratch.

This is a tremendous VICTORY for our efforts, and those of the overall community! We will remain vigilant, of course, in the fight to preserve and protect our watershed!

For an explanation of what was at stake, please view the recording of our June, 2021, ZOOM PUBLIC MEETING on this subject:

We Rocked the Mid-Pax Lions Carnival

Thinking that a popular carnival would be a great way to get the word out about CCWPA in general and our fight against the warehouse in particular, we staffed a booth at the Middle Paxton Lions Club Carnival on July 29-31. It was a huge success!

We gave out “Stop the LDI Warehouse” yard signs; took donations; signed up new members and chatted with dozens of interested people from the greater Dauphin area!

The fireworks Friday night were fun to see, too!

A Fascinating Firehouse Tour

Robert "Rusty" Rusbatch, Dauphin Emergency Services Coordinator, invited CCWPA to take a Firehouse Field Trip and Go-Bag info session on August 5th.

At the session, Rusty showed CCWPA members the equipment, described the protection and emergency process, and showed what a “Go-Bag” (something everyone should keep ready at all times) should include.

To help you plan yours, here is a PDF showing the entire function!

Our booth at the Wildwood Park Wetlands Festival on Saturday, April 24, was also a huge success. We met many folks and gave out important information about our watershed.

We Had a Tremendous "Trash Collection Success"!

The Clarks Creek Watershed Preservation Association (CCWPA) held its 19th "Adopt-a-Highway" Trash pickup session on Saturday, September 26, 2020, from 9 am to noon. Once again, our efforts were under the aegis of the Great American Clean-Up of Pennsylvania.

Our 10 intrepid volunteers, led by Mike Blum, successfully scoured both sides of Route 325 between our two ADOPT-A-HIGHWAY SIGNS — thus about 4 miles of roadside!

We picked up 12 large bags of trash-garbage and 6 bags of recyclable materials (mostly cardboard, aluminum cans and some glass), despite a pretty steady cold drizzle.

Afterwards, as promised, we repaired (inside, but socially distant!) to a "Pizza Party" where we reviewed our proud 10-year history and looked forward to the future.

2020 ANNUAL MEETING ZOOMED — VIRTUALLY!

Our 2020 Annual Meeting was held on Tuesday, September 15, 2020, using ZOOM, the popular "Virtual Meeting" software that has transformed meetings around the world!

Twelve voting members and three guests attended the meeting, which was chaired by our President Paula Zankel. Among the highlights of the meeting was the election of Mike Blum, Ryan Evans, Arlene Taylor and Brett Zankel to TWO YEAR TERMs (terms expire in September 2022) on the CCWPA Board of Directors.

For the complete Minutes of this meeting, please visit this link.

OUR CREEK WALK WAS A HUGE SUCCESS!

The Clarks Creek Watershed Preservation Association (CCWPA) held its THIRD EVER "Creek Walk," on Sunday, June 9, 2019, from 3 - 5 pm.

Biologist Rachel Goad from the Western PA Conservancy led the walk, along with Mike Blum (the property owner of the path walked).

Rachel showed us riparian flowers and other growing things of interest, and was able to identify every growing thing along the way.

Plus, new growth of hemlocks to shade the creek were observed, as well as some invasive species.

See the map to note where we walked. Photos of the walk have been posted on our Facebook page.

For information on how to JOIN the CCWPA, select this link!

You can sign up to receive our e-newsletters and e-grams by selecting the button below. You'll be kept up to date on our events, Adopt-a-Highway sessions, tours & walks, and more!

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Clarks Creek Watershed Preservation Association • P.O. Box 75 • Dauphin, PA 17018
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