Lysle Sherwin
Director, Center for Watershed Stewardship

227 East Calder Way • University Park, PA • 16801
Ph: 814.865-3334 • Fax: 814.865.1378 • Email: lss9@psu.edu

Education
B.A., History, University of Pittsburgh (1966)
M.S., Wildlife Management, West Virginia University (1976)

Interests

I am a newcomer to the academic world, joining the Center for Watershed Stewardship in August 1998 after a 24-year career as executive director of Loyalhanna Watershed Association in southwestern Pennsylvania. I am a firm believer in the elegant logic of community-based stewardship, a powerful catalyst for proactive watershed protection and restoration initiatives, and in the necessity of strong public/private partnerships.

My objective is to bring the practical experience gained in the trenches to an innovative curriculum educating the next generation of watershed management professionals. Related to that teaching objective, my academic interests involve the social ecology of PennsylvaniaÌs diverse watersheds, each of which are distinct communities, and the pedagogical challenges of experiential, interdisciplinary group learning.

Across Pennsylvania and the nation the number of watershed associations and similar place-based environmental groups has increased almost tenfold to 3,500 in just six years since 1994 according to a survey by River Network. This explosive growth, a new paradigm of stakeholder engagement and consensus among disparate interests to achieve water quality goals, and the inherent disciplinary strengths of landscape architecture offer unprecedented opportunities for graduates of the Option in Watershed Stewardship. I believe landscape architecture is at the nexus of watershed stewardship: it is the integrating discipline that links the biophysical hardsciences, socio-political sciences, site and landscape-scale design, communication and graphic presentation competencies and historical/cultural values into a holistic approach to protecting watersheds and invigorating communities.

Courses Taught:
Watershed Issues Seminar (Fall Semester Only)
Watershed Stewardship Planning Seminar (Spring Semester Only)
Watershed Stewardship Practicum I & II, Keystone Project (Fall and Spring Semesters)

Recent Research/Outreach Projects:

Maiden Creek Keystone Project in Berks and Lehigh County, Pennsylvania.
The first watershed stewardship plan undertaken by the Penn State Center for Watershed Stewardship was located in southeastern Pennsylvania near Reading in cooperation with the Berks County Conservancy and a steering committee of more than 25 municipal, county, state and federal agencies and other stakeholders.

An interdisciplinary team of 5 students engaged in a two semester process to assess environmental conditions and non-point source water pollution causing an Ïimpaired watersÓ designation of Lake Ontelaunee, the source water supply for 125,000 residents of Reading. Management alternatives and implementation strategies developed in the planning process addressed seven primary issues ranging from surface water impairment, impacts of land use changes on rural character and environmentally sensitive areas, and the need for a broad-based, proactive watershed organization to promote and coordinate watershed stewardship efforts. These proposed steps were presented orally by students and in a Maiden Creek Watershed Stewardship report to be integrated by Berks County Conservancy in a comprehensive River Conservation Plan. (The student-produced Maiden Creek report is available in PDF format.

Recent Publications &
Conference Presentations:
Sherwin, L.S. and K. Tamminga. Keystone Projects: Service Learning Practica in Watershed Stewardship. Water Resources Update, The Universities Council on Water Resources (In Press).

Sherwin, L.S. 1999. Student Watershed Planning Teams: Incorporating Science into Local Watershed Stewardship Strategies. Pages 221-226 in Eloise Kendy, editor. Proceedings, American Water Resources Association Specialty Conference, Science into Policy: Water in the Public Realm. Bozeman, Montana.

Sharpe, W.E. and L.S. Sherwin. 1994. Environmental Restoration Education: The Linn Run Acid Runoff Mitigation Project. Proceedings, Environmental Restoration Conference, The Universities Council on Water Resources. Big Sky, Montana.