Status of the AML Reauthorization

Presenter:

John Dawes
Administrator
Western Pennsylvania Watershed Program

Abstract:

SMCRA Title 4 Reauthorization

Biography:

Administrator of the Western Pennsylvania Watershed Program since 1994, Dawes supervised small grants covering more than 150 environmental restoration and preservation projects throughout the region. The intent of this organization is to provide seed money for local groups to access federal and state agency funding. Departments such as the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (PA DEP), the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR), the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and the US Army Corps of Engineers have contributed over $70 million to these projects.

For five years Dawes was consultant to the Heinz Endowments Environment Program where he supervised grants to regional watershed groups pursuing a DCNR Rivers Conservation Plan. Other duties included participation in sustainable forestry round tables, and the facilitation of a state-wide watershed advocacy group, the Pennsylvania Organization for Watersheds and Rivers (POWR).

Professional affiliations:

• Alternate Commissioner on the Governor’s 21st Century Commission on the Environment
• Board member of Penn Future
• Board member of the Progress Fund
• President of the Board, Pennsylvania Organization for Watersheds and Rivers (POWR)

Dawes is the author of a research paper on the value of planted riparian zones, which resulted in financial support of the largest privately funded initiative for streamside planting in the state.

Dawes graduated from Pennsylvania State University with a Bachelor’s Degree in Education and an M.Ed. Since 1970, he has owned and managed a purebred Angus farm in Huntingdon County, Pennsylvania where conservation practices have been implemented, including stream bank fencing, forest stewardship planning, installation of a grid connected windmill, and spring development using photo-voltaic panels.

In 2006, Dawes received the Karl Mason Award from the Pennsylvania Association of Environmental Professionals.