From the Waynesboro Record Herald Newspaper - April 26, 2006

Rettig's leadership is helping to save local watershed By Karen Karaszkiewicz The Record Herald

A tributary of the Antietam Creek runs along the property line of Antietam Watershed Association President Dr. Stephen Rettig’s yard.

WAYNESBORO - Washington Township's rural culture and natural features were two of the reasons Dr. Stephen Rettig decided 30 years ago to raise a family in the area.

Now the president of the Antietam Watershed Association worries that the township's streams and forests may be threatened by the recent rapid development.

Group's origins

A few years ago, Rettig and a group of concerned residents became involved in trying to save the Diller farm, located behind the Wayne Heights Mall, from development, fearing it could impact the Antietam Creek.

With Rettig as its spokesman, the group established a board in 2003 and became the first nonprofit watershed association in Franklin County.

“Many of us had the same ideas, but we were individuals. Dr. Rettig gave us the idea to form a group,” said the association's vice president, Pat Heefner.

*Preserving the creek

While the east branch is in “pretty good shape,” Rettig said development and farming are affecting the health of the Antietam Creek.

Parking lots and roofs increase storm water runoff into the creek, and livestock that can access the banks cause the water to become polluted, he said.

“The stream is more than just a drainage ditch - it's a living thing and part of the community,” Rettig said.

The Antietam Watershed Association has completed two farm stewardship projects each year in cooperation with the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, which approached members of the association shortly after it received non-profit status, Rettig said.

The projects involve plant-ing vegetation on agricultural land along the stream to help filter storm water runoff and installing fencing to keep cattle from trampling and polluting the banks.

Association members and other volunteers plant the trees, which are purchased with grant money from the state, at no cost to the land owners.

*The watershed

Rettig noted that the Antietam Creek is part of the Chesapeake Bay Watershed.

“My wife (Colleen) introduced me to the bay - I had never seen a blue crab before,” said Rettig, who grew up in Ohio. “Since then, it has become a part of my life, and I know it's a beautiful thing to restore and protect.”

The east branch of the Antietam Creek runs along the Rettigs' property line. Their three children all became trout fisherman as a result, Rettig said.

He said the focus of the association is education rather than advocacy.

“We're interested in being cooperative with people who live in the Waynesboro area. We're not interested in being confrontational,” Rettig said.

As president, Rettig's biggest job is making sure the organization keeps growing. Since it was formed, membership has increased from about a dozen individuals to 65 paid members, he said.

*Serving the community

Rettig volunteers about five to 10 hours a week to the organization while also serving the community as a family physician.

He said his career and passion for the outdoors are closely tied.

“I've come to realize how just breathing the fresh air, hearing the birds and putting my hands in the stream have helped me have a more positive attitude,” Rettig said. “The best things in life are free, and people with that view are healthier.”

Understanding how humans fit into the “complicated system of nature” helps people feel more at peace and reduces anxiety, he added.

Heefner said Rettig's stature as a physician gives additional credibility to the association.

“He's been such a strong and consistent spokesperson for preserving the watershed in particular and for conserving our natural resources in general,” she said. “He's kind of the face of our group.”