 Loyalhanna Creek
The Loyalhanna Creek watershed begins in the Laurel
Highlands, near Stahlstown, and flows through Ligonier,
Latrobe
, and New Alexandria on its way to Saltsburg where it joins the
Conemaugh
River
to form the Kiskiminetas
River. From
Latrobe
on down, the Loyalhanna Creek is beset by Abandoned Mine Drainage
problems. Above
Latrobe however, the stream is a cold-water fishery with a number of significant
tributaries.
The upper Loyalhanna watershed offers a wide variety
of trout fishing opportunities including the fairly large water of the
Loyalhanna Creek, which also has a 1+ mile Delayed Harvest area, Four Mile
Run, and the smaller, faster water of Mill Creek and several mountain
streams which contain Native Brook Trout.
In addition, Laughlintown Run has wild Rainbow Trout.
The Loyalhanna Watershed Association was formed in 1971 with a mission to
“Protect, Conserve, and Restore the Natural Resources of the Loyalhanna
Creek Watershed”. The
watershed is 300 square miles, with approximately 2,500 miles of stream,
located in
Westmoreland
County. Our current projects
include:
 
We are in the process of doing a Watershed Assessment and this CHP grant
has enabled us to gather baseline data and assess the quality of our
coldwater fisheries using Macroinvertebrate indicators.
Our Macroinvertebrate data will complement our visual assessments
allowing us to pinpoint problems in the upper watershed and devise a
conservation plan. We partnered with the Forbes Trail Chapter of Trout
Unlimited in using Macroinvertebrate sampling for their 2004 CHP grant to
develop a conservation plan for the upper Mill Creek watershed.
For
additional information, contact:
Drew
Banas, Executive Director
Loyalhanna
Watershed Association
110 Andi Lane
Ligonier
,
PA
15658
724-238-7560
dbanas@laurelweb.net
www.loyalhannawatershed.org
|
For
More Information
View the Loyalhanna Creek Macroinvertebrate Study and Conservation Plan