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 Partnerships
Stonycreek-Conemaugh River Improvement Project
Partnership Brings New Generation of Anglers Back
to Stonycreek
By addressing abandoned mine drainage in the Stonycreek and Conemaugh
River watersheds, the Stonycreek-Conemaugh River Improvement Project
(SCRIP) is improving fishing, recreational and economic opportunities
for Somerset and Cambria counties. SCRIP's 16-member volunteer board
consists of representatives from government, business, conservation
groups and sportsmen associations, all working to bring wildlife
and visitors back to areas impacted by abandoned mine drainage (AMD).
SCRIP's talents run the gamut from creating partnerships
and educating the public to constructing AMD treatment systems,
such as the six-site, $5 million Oven Run Project. After a decade
of pioneering and facilitating public-private partnerships, SCRIP
achieved several historic milestones in 2001.
In April, 1.5 miles of Quemahoning Creek were stocked
with more than 3,000 trout downstream from an AMD passive treatment
system SCRIP helped install. On the first day of trout fishing season,
local anglers had the chance to fish for trout in their own backyards.
SCRIP initiated a public acquisition of five water
reservoirs encompassing 5,500 acres of land and water in the Stonycreek
and Little Conemaugh watersheds, which resulted in the Pennsylvania
Department of Conservation and Natural Resources awarding the largest
land grant in the history of the state. In May 2001, for the first
time in nearly 100 years, the Quemahoning Reservoir opened for public
boating.
September saw the release of more than 2,400 fingerling
bass beneath bridges in downtown Johnstown and Hooversville. The
Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission asserted that this initial
stocking is the first step in transforming the Stonycreek River
from a recovering fishery to that of a managed fishery.
To SCRIP volunteers, success is not measured by the
stocking of fish. The real impact is in the results derived from
the power of partnerships that have enabled local communities to
bring their rivers back to life.
"Through 10 years worth of countless volunteer
hours, SCRIP pioneered and developed the public-private partnerships
that are now producing documented positive recreational and economic
benefits to local communities in the Stonycreek and Little Conemaugh
watersheds."
Len Lichvar
Chairman
SCRIP
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