Antietam Farm Stewardship Program

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The trees being planted along this farm stream will create a healthy buffer as they grow.

CBF Staff

Seventy-nine percent of the streams in the Antietam Watershed lack forested stream buffers and as a result have some of the highest nutrient loading rates from pasture and manure of any region in the Bay watershed.

This Farm Stewardship Program provides plant material and stream bank fencing to help restore streams in this highly erodible watershed. Technical assistance and funding are also available for the conversion of cropland to grazing. The goal is to restore wildlife habitat and water quality through the establishment, protection and stewardship of riparian forests and wetlands. CBF pays the full cost of two-strand electric fencing and plantings adjacent to streams and wetlands. The landowner is responsible for costs of stabilized crossings and/or watering access points. Landowners may pay this portion or earn cost-share credits to cover it by creating buffers wider than 35 feet and/or fencing wetlands.

The approach is to allow landowners to earn cost-share credits by creating wider-than-minimum buffers (>35 feet) and/or fencing wetlands that are currently being grazed. Landowners can use these credits to pay for their portion of costs (stabilized stream crossings) and/or other best management practices (BMPs).

Partners consist of federal, state and local agencies as well as several watershed/conservation organizations and private companies. They are:

  • Antietam Watershed Association
  • Chesapeake Bay Trust
  • Franklin County Conservation District
  • Beaver Creek Watershed Association
  • Antietam Fly Fishers
  • Mid-Atlantic Federation of Fly Fishers
  • PA Dept. of Environmental Protection
  • Upper Potomac Tributary Strategy Team
  • Penn State Mont Alto Forestry School
  • DNR Forest Service & Monitoring Division
  • Dickinson College ALLARM
  • Washington County Dept. of Planning
  • CBF's Pennsylvania Office
  • Trout Unlimited Seneca Valley Chapter
  • US Fish and Wildlife Service Trout Unlimited National Capital Chapter
  • Waynesboro Lions Club
  • L.L. Bean Factory Outlet Store
  • National Fish and Wildlife Federation

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