Shober's Run

The Fort Bedford chapter of Trout Unlimited chose to develop an informal assessment and a plan for conserving the Shobers Run watershed for several reasons. For anyone who grew up around Bedford Borough, Shobers Run was the local stream for play and usually their first trout fishing venue. Students at Bedford High School, and later the middle school as well, are likely to have used the stream as an outdoor classroom since the athletic fields at both schools are adjacent to the lower reaches of the stream. Despite the familiarity that many local residents have with Shobers Run, an appreciation of the quality and value of the stream is not widespread. Many landowners not only mow their chemically-attained green lawns to the water’s edge, but some will dump their grass clippings and other yard waste over the stream bank without concern. More isolated sections and areas on Bedford Springs property are frequently used as dump sites by landowners and landscapers discarding unwanted yard items and waste. 

For several years in the 1990’s, Fort Bedford Trout Unlimited stocked cooperative nursery trout in sections of Shobers Run that are convenient and accessible to youth anglers. Litter cleanups, in partnership with 4-H clubs, high school groups, PA CleanWays and others, have been FBTU projects for many years. FBTU has also partnered with high school groups and others in tree-planting projects at two sites along Shobers Run.

Local anglers, including some FBTU members, have anecdotally provided evidence of wild trout, both brown and brook, encountered in Shobers Run. The possible presence of wild trout and the potential for development in this small watershed are prime factors in the decision to look closer at current conditions of the watershed and its future.

Contact:

Guy Stottlemyer

Fort Bedford Trout Unlimited

(814) 623-7900 xt 4

Email

  Download a copy of the Shobers Run Coldwater  Conservation Plan here