About Us
Mission
The Watershed Alliance of York (WAY) is committed to being an innovative leader encouraging locally led watershed planning, restoration and protection initiatives, in the watersheds of York County, Susquehanna River and Chesapeake Bay region, in the 21st century, through cooperation, public-private partnerships and strategic alliances, and in harmony with community, economic and natural resources
Vision
In the 21st century and beyond, generations of York County citizens and stakeholders enjoy healthy communities, economic sustainability and environmental quality, through locally led watershed conservation, education and stewardship initiatives restoring, enhancing, sustaining, and protecting the balance between humans, renewable and nonrenewable resources, and our environment
Values
The Watershed Alliance of York (WAY) and its partners recognize the important interrelationships of land use, clean water and biodiversity, in York County, Susquehanna River Basin, and Chesapeake Bay watersheds, as being vital to restoring, enhancing, protecting, and sustaining community health, economic sustainability and environmental quality, in the 21st century and beyond
Watershed Alliance
Mission
"To restore, enhance, sustain, and protect the Codorus Creek Watershed and it's environs as a living resource for future generations, and as a habitat for biodiversity."
Mission
- Goal: Preserve and protect the County’s natural environment
- Goal: Protect and preserve the County’s agricultural heritage and the continued viability of agriculture
Mission
The mission of the Gunpowder Valley Conservancy is to educate and mobilize people and resources to preserve and restore the lands and waterways of the Gunpowder watershed.
Mission
THE LEAGUE TAKES A COMMON SENSE APPROACH TOWARD PROTECTING OUR NATIONS HERITAGE AND IMPROVING OUTDOOR RECREATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES FOR ALL.
Mission
We are friends, neighbors, outdoorsmen, recreationalists, and families who want safe drinking water, sustainable use of natural resources, and the ability to fish and swim in the Susquehanna River and her tributaries.
Codorus Chapter Mission
The Codorus Chapter was founded in 1988 by a small, but dedicated group of individuals interested in preserving and enhancing the West Branch of the Codorus Creek. Over the years our chapter, like our home stream, has grown and flourished and now includes over 270 members. We strive to continually maintain an active schedule of fundraising, stream improvement, landowner relations, educational and public relations efforts.
Muddy Creek Chapter Mission
Our mission is to Conserve and Protect and Restore the Muddy Creek watershed for future use.
Our goals
- Increase the opportunities of recreational fishing on the watershed by improving the water quality.
- Reduce midsummer stream temperatures by creating riparian buffer zones on it's headwaters.
- Improve landowner relations for the enhancement and enjoyment of the watershed.
- Reduce downstream sedimentation effects using streambank restoration techniques.
- Re-introduce wild trout to the watershed where they once existed.
Mission
The Prettyboy Watershed Alliance is a citizen-led group of local residents committed to protecting and restoring our land and our streams that drain to the Prettyboy Reservoir. Our mission is to promote landowner stewardship, build public-private partnerships and advocate watershed protection and restoration.
Mission
The Yellow Breeches Watershed Association (YBWA) is committed to cooperatively foster public understanding and sound management of environmental resources in the Yellow Breeches Watershed. The YBWA is a solution-oriented organization, providing technically sound information, education, leadership and coordination in the field of watershed management. The YBWA advances environmental stewardship through support of practical management of watershed resources for the protection and enhancement of environmental quality.
Why Watersheds?
What is a watershed?
A watershed is an area of land that drains into a particular river, lake or other body of water.
Watersheds are sometimes called “basins” or “drainage basins.” We all live in a watershed. Some watersheds, like that of a stream or creek, are small. Others, like the Chesapeake Bay watershed, are large.
Bay 101
The Chesapeake Bay is rich in history and natural beauty. It is the largest estuary in the United States and home to a huge number of plants, animals and people. Watch the videos below to learn about some of the critters that live here and the issues that affect Bay restoration. Learn more...
Bay History
The Chesapeake region has been around for a very long time. Europeans arrived. Steel plows and axes allowed easier clearing of land for agriculture, firewood and forest products. Charcoal makers cut and burned large areas of forest to supply fuel for the early iron industry. Farms and towns replaced the forest in valleys and on h The growing population pushed west. By the 1850's, Penn's Woods supported an estimated 128,000 selfsufficient farms But the story of the Bay began millions of years before that. Read more...
Bay Ecosystem
An ecosystem is a complex set of relationships among living and non-living things. Air, water, soil, sunlight, plants and animals – including humans – make up an ecosystem. Ecosystems can be as tiny as a patch of dirt in your backyard, or as large as the entire Chesapeake Bay watershed. Learn more...
Bay Watershed
The Chesapeake Bay watershed spans more than 64,000 square miles. It encompasses parts of six states—Delaware, Maryland, New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia and West Virginia—and the entire District of Columbia. More than 18 million people live in the Chesapeake Bay watershed. The Chesapeake Bay’s land-to-water ratio is 14:1: the largest of any coastal water body in the world. This is why our actions on land have such a big impact on the Bay’s health.
FAQ
Do you have a question about the Chesapeake Bay? Explore our list of frequently asked questions to learn more about the Bay and its watershed, habitats and wildlife. You can browse the FAQ by category, or explore the answers to some of our most common questions.
York County Watersheds
Yellow Breeches
- 219 sq. mi. Watershed
- 70.21 sq. mi. (York County)
- 56% Agriculture Land Use
- 30% Urban Land Use
- 31,585 People (2000 Census)
- Headwaters: Cumberland Co.; Multiple tributaries York County
- Confluence Lower Susquehanna River at New Cumberland
Conewago Creek (West)
- 510 sq. mi. Watershed
- 245.62 sq. mi. (York County)
- 62% Agriculture Land Use
- 30% Urban Land Use
- 83,978 People (2000 Census)
- Headwaters: Micheux State Forest (Adams Co.) & Penn & West Manheim Twps. (York Co.)
- Confluence Lower Susquehanna River at York Haven
Codorus Creek
- 294 sq. mi. Watershed (York County)
- 59% Agriculture Land Use
- 33% Urban Land Use
- 187,776 People (2000 Census)
- Headwaters: Southern York County from Penn to Shrewsbury Twps.
- Confluence Lower Susquehanna Rive at Saginaw
Kreutz-Muddy Creeks
- 300.66 sq. mi. Watershed
- 75% Agriculture Land Use
- 25% Urban Land Use
- 78,412 People (2000 Census)
- Headwaters: North Hopewell & Windsor Twps.
- Confluence Lower Susquehanna River at Castle Finn
Gunpowder
- 450 sq. mi. Watershed
- 10 sq. mi. York County
- Headwaters near Glen Rock, PA
- Confluence Chesapeake Bay, north of Baltimore
Deer Creek
- 171 sq. mi. Watershed
- 40 sq. mi. York County
- 60% Agriculture Land Use
- 34% Forest
- 5% Urban Land Use
- Headwaters Shrewsbury Twp.
- Confluence Lower Susquehanna River near Aberdeen, MD