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About the Upper Susquehanna Coalition

The Upper Susquehanna Coalition (USC), established in 1992, is a network of county natural resource professionals who develop strategies, partnerships, programs and projects to protect the headwaters of the Susquehanna River and Chesapeake Bay watersheds. The USC is comprised of representatives from 16 counties in New York and 3 in Pennsylvania.

USC members include Soil and Water Conservation Districts in NY and Conservation Districts in PA. Each member has signed a Memorandum of Understanding that reflects their endorsement of the development of non-point-source projects on a watershed basis. Through shared projects and regular meetings, the USC has maintained a remarkable degree of cooperation between its members and its many partners.

Funding
Funding for the USC operations and projects is obtained from federal, state and local sources. Most funds for planning and implementation are obtained competitively where proposals are submitted on behalf of the entire USC or frequently for multiple county members for subwatershed-level projects.

Strategic Support
The USC provides liaison support between state, regional and federal agencies and local planners and implementers. The USC has partnered with local, regional, state, federal, academic and non-governmental organizations to conduct projects on varying watershed scales. Through its county members the USC networks with local watershed organizations, town and county public works and planning officials, farmers and other watershed stakeholders. The USC strives not to duplicate work of others or compete with ongoing efforts at any level, but to integrate other programs into an overall basin strategy.

Strategic Planning
The USC has partnered with the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation to develop New York State Tributary Strategy for Chesapeake Bay Restoration - An Interim Plan based on the Chesapeake Bay Program Watershed Model, Version 4.3. This and later versions of this document describe the overall issues and potential solutions to address water quality issues in the USC.

The USC uses a Multiple Barrier Approach (MBA) for watershed planning and implementation. The MBA addresses the issue (such as flooding, streambank erosion or degraded fish habitat) at the source (e.g., headwaters), across the landscape, and in the stream corridor, as well as programmatically (e.g., regulations, training). By developing multiple and possibly smaller projects to target the critical control point of a problem helps achieve tangible results over a wide range of funding levels.

Database Development
The USC has developed a series of digital; data layers for planning and eduction. We believe it is imperative that there be graphical information available to help understand nonpoint source issues. Click on the GIS Data tab for more information.

For an indication of where we are located, click on the map below depicting:

For statistics on each of these subwatersheds CLICK THIS LINK

For a list of our members CLICK HERE

For a list of our partners CLICK HERE