Mill Creek

This Mill Creek Watershed Conservation Plan was made possible by a Coldwater Heritage Partnership (CHP) grant that was awarded to Forbes Trail Trout Unlimited (FTTU). By applying for and receiving CHP funding, FTTU enabled itself to take a detailed look at Mill Creek and all of its tributaries. The objective was to create a detailed plan to protect current water quality while working to restore any problem areas we encountered. 

Through a cooperative effort, members and volunteers were trained in visual stream assessment in the spring of 2004 by Ben Wright of the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy. In the following months, trained volunteers walked the entire watershed, noting impairments in channel condition, riparian zone, canopy, sedimentation, fish cover, macroinvertebrate habitat, and pH of the stream and its tributaries. Information was collected and compiled to help formulate this booklet.  

If you live or work within the Mill Creek watershed or visit its valley to fish, hunt, or camp, you are a person who uses and appreciates what it has to offer. The headwaters of Mill Creek are among some of the .nest in the state of Pennsylvania . The Middle and South Forks of this watershed are listed as Exceptional Value (EV). The North Fork is listed as a High Quality Cold Water Fishery (HQ-CWF). Wildlife is abundant in this area. Deer, black bear, wild turkey and grouse are just a few of the game animals you may encounter. 

The entire Mill Creek watershed lies within Westmoreland County . It drains an area of 33.10 square miles. From its pristine beginnings, including all of its tributaries, to where it meets the Loyalhanna Creek, it flows a span of 51.6 miles. During its journey, the stream undergoes many changes, primarily due to its encounter with civilization. Remarkably, the stream remains a viable fishery throughout nearly its entire length. With proper land practices and through education, we hope to encourage responsible stewardship and land protection that will help to improve the Mill Creek watershed’s water quality, habitat and aquatic life.

PROBLEMS TO ADDRESS

• Timbering practices in the headwaters

• Bank erosion

• Failing septic systems

• Educating landowners on proper stewardship and land practices

• Acid mine drainage

About FTTU:

Forbes Trail Trout Unlimited has been involved with stream improvement on Loyalhanna Creek since the early 1970’s, after a highway bypass and Hurricane Agnes caused severe bank erosion and siltation. In the early 1980’s, Forbes Trail in partnership with the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission and the Loyalhanna Watershed Association began an aggressive stream improvement project on the Delayed Harvest section of Loyalhanna Creek. Over two decades our chapter has constructed over fifteen fish habitat devices and stabilized more than 300 yards of stream bank which has stood the test of time and the severe January flood of the mid 1990’s. 2003 was another successful year for the Forbes Trail Chapter of Trout Unlimited. FTTU completed its third year of a massive stream improvement project on Linn Run. Volunteers teamed with the Outside-In organization starting on July 19, 2003 and completed our work on August 30, 2003. This year our chapter constructed a 45-foot channel block designed to help keep the stream in its main channel. To construct this device members hoisted two thirty-two foot logs into position and placed 20 tons of stone, all by hand, to reinforce the device. Forbes Trail also repaired an old splash dam moving another 10 ton of stone, stabilized banks and tree root systems and planted 500 seedlings along the stream to help stop soil erosion. Our hard work was featured in the Sunday August 31st edition of the Tribune Review.

Contact information:

Ben Wright

Director, Watershed Field Services

Western Pa Conservancy

Watershed Assistance Center

P.O. Box R; Rt. 381 South
Mill Run, pa 15464

(724) 459-0953 ext. 102

bwright@paconserve.org