Conservation Planning for Wild Trout Tributaries of Beech Creek

The area of this project is in the Beech Creek watershed, located in the most northern portion of Centre County and western Clinton County, north of I-80 and west of Rt 144.  Some of the major towns and villages within the watershed include Snow Shoe, Beech Creek, and Monument. Initially developed around the extraction of coal, lumber, and clay, this watershed has an abundance of other natural resources, contributing to its picturesque landscapes and great recreational use.

In total, there are over 300 stream miles in the watershed, which are all designated as Cold Water Fishery.  In 7% of these stream miles, the stream designation is extended to High Quality Cold Water Fishery and in 20% the designation is extended to Exceptional Value.  Of the total stream miles, 74% are in attainment for Aquatic Life use.  However, 81 stream miles, including the entire mainstem of Beech Creek, are severely impaired from abandoned mine drainage (AMD).            

This project is a collaboration of the Beech Creek Watershed Association (BCWA) and the Penn State Center for Watershed (CWS).  Currently composed of 105 active members, the BCWA was founded in 2000 with a stated mission to: “Protect the quality and beauty of the Beech Creek and to enhance life in the Beech Creek Watershed by: 

-          Reclaiming area of the Watershed affected by AMD;

-          Promoting wise land use and management of natural resources;

-          Protecting and enhancing open space and natural areas in the Watershed and providing opportunities for enjoyment of these natural area;

-          Promoting awareness and appreciation of environmental issues through education so that the community makes sound choices for a sustainable, ecologically healthy future.”

           In light of the severity of the AMD impacting Beech Creek, the BCWA has primarily been focused on the AMD problem and has made significant headway.  A major recent accomplishment has been completion of the AMD Restoration Plan in 2006, conducted by Hedin Environmental.  This plan was supported by a grant from Growing Greener and sets out major priorities, approaches, and costs to address AMD in the Beech Creek watershed.

            The CWS, established in 1998, is an intercollegiate initiative of the Colleges of Agricultural Sciences and Arts and Architecture at Penn State and was established with a major grant by the Heinz Endowments of Pittsburgh.  The Center's mission encompasses interdisciplinary graduate studies focused on team-oriented, real world problem solving within the context of community-based watershed planning and management. A 2-semester practicum (Keystone Project) engages student teams with community groups and their partners to carry out watershed assessments and to solve problems targeted to local, watershed issues and concerns.  Keystone Projects have been conducted in seven Pennsylvania watersheds, including Maiden Creek, which was recognized by a June 2001 “Governor’s Award” to CWS in the Watershed Assessment and Planning category. 

           The Beech Creek watershed contains many high quality trout assets, despite the presence of AMD impacts that affect the mainstem of Beech Creek.  The causes of these impacts are primarily located in the western portion of the watershed while in the eastern portion, and in other major sections, water quality and stream habitat are in excellent condition.  However, these pristine areas go largely unrecognized due to a pervasive perception of chronic AMD.  The main goal of this project is to develop baseline data on these existing coldwater resources in order to produce a conservation plan setting forth strategies and management actions for their protection and preservation.

             Thirteen stream sites were chosen to monitor, which includes all streams that have been designated as either Exceptional Value or High Quality and all documented or potential wild trout streams.  The types of data collected will be stream habitat, benthic macroinvertebrates, an assessment of fish communities,  and six acid deposition parameters collected during lowflow and high runoff periods when water quality conditions are anticipated to be at their worst.  

             A significant portion of this project has been completed in the spring of 2006 by CWS students in the 2006 Keystone Project practicum with the help of volunteers from the BCWA and Trout Unlimited, Lloyd Wilson Chapter.  Eight of the thirteen sites have been assessed for habitat and fish communities and grab samples were collected at all of the thirteen sites during a low flow period, which will be used as a baseline for a high runoff event.

For more information, contact:  

Lysle S. Sherwin
Director
Center for Watershed Stewardship
Pennsylvania State University,

301 Forest Resources

University Park, PA 16802

lss9@psu.edu

http://www.larch.psu.edu/watershed/home.html

Jesse Yonkovich

Research Assistant

Center for Watershed Stewardship
Pennsylvania State University,

301 Forest Resources

University Park, PA 16802

jly159@psu.edu