[title size=”3″ ]Tree Planting Along St. James Run Is Part Of Larger Effort To Help Farmers Restore Streamside Forestbuffers Along Working Lands Photo Caption: Spielman Farm owner Jim Clement, center, meets with representatives of the Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay and Norfolk Southern along stream where new trees will be planted in a joint conservation effort that will improve the Chesapeake watershed.(Washington County, Maryland – July 1, 2015) As part of its work to restore the rivers and streams of the Chesapeake watershed through the Chesapeake Forest Fund, the Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay and landowners Jim and Linda Clement, with support from the Norfolk Southern Foundation, will plant trees along St. James Run at Spielman Farm in Washington County, Maryland. The tree planting, along with fencing that prevents cattle from entering the stream, will improve watershed water quality and create habitat for the eastern brook trout and other wildlife.

The project is part of a broader effort by the Alliance to help private landowners take conservation actions that benefit their farms and the Chesapeake. The Alliance is working with farmers across the Bay watershed to integrate streamside forests into the working lands that are their livelihood. Streamside forest buffers are a key part of nature’s treatment systems. They serve as the last line of defense for water pollution as well as support habitat for fish, store carbon and provide many other benefits to the environment and the public.

This partnership planting at the Spielman Farm will have a lasting impact on the environment for years to come. The stream is in the headwaters of the Potomac River — a high priority area for the Chesapeake Bay watershed clean-up effort.

“The Alliance is excited to help the Clement family meet their conservation needs. It is a great example of how the goals of conservation and working lands can go together,” said Eric Sprague, Alliance Director of Chesapeake Forests Programs.

“Most people know us as a railroad, but ‘trees and trains’ go hand-in-hand,” said Esi Waters, Norfolk Southern’s corporate sustainability manager. “Sustainability is smart business, and we are privileged to work with the Alliance and other neighbors to protect and improve the lands we all cherish.”

Jim Clement states, “We are grateful for the support and technical advice for better stream management from the Alliance and our neighbor, Norfolk Southern, through its foundation. We want to do the right thing for the environment and to help improve the Chesapeake Bay watershed, but where and how do you start? The Alliance is proving to be the partner we needed to do our part to protect the St. James Run.”About Norfolk Southern CorporationNorfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE: NSC) is one of the nation’s premier transportation companies. Its Norfolk Southern Railway Company subsidiary operates approximately 20,000 route miles in 22 states and the District of Columbia, serves every major container port in the eastern United States, and provides efficient connections to other rail carriers. Norfolk Southern operates the most extensive intermodal network in the East and is a major transporter of coal, automotive, and industrial products.