The CSPDC Chesapeake Bay Watershed Implementation Plan (WIP) program, which is administered through the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ), is funding a tree and native vegetation planting project for the City of Waynesboro’s South River Preserve Project. The funding will be used to replace five acres of former industrial land and an impervious surface along the South River with native trees and plant species to establish a floodplain, forest, and meadow.
The city completed spring plantings in March and April and will complete the final planting phase this fall. The plantings will improve habitat along the South River and promote infiltration of runoff from the highly compacted soils and is part of a larger effort to improve water quality, protect wildlife habitat, and enhance recreational fishing.