January 1, 2018 marked a special day in the history of the West Branch Susquehanna River. From the treatment plant in Watkins, Pennsylvania 26 miles down stream to Burnside, Pennsylvania, the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission designated this section as Catch and Release for Wild Trout. For those of you that are not familiar with this river, please take the time to research the rich history that helped the economic growth of Western Pennsylvania. The West Branch Susquehanna River played a very important rule for transportation during the logging and mining boom of Cambria and Clearfield County. This river allowed resources from the area to be transported into larger markets allowing economic success to take place in all the surrounding small communities. However, my memories of this river was stained orange and uninhabitable due to Acid Mine Drainage. Growing up in the region my whole life, no one went into the river unless you wanted your clothes to change color and have a unique smell. After the help of many organizations locally, state, and federal, the river made a remarkable comeback from Acid Mine Drainage. Today, many organizations are still working hard to help the river recover, and continue to flourish. The money I am looking to raise will be used in a dam removal project by PA DEP and American Rivers to help fish migrate further upstream, and a section of the river habitat improvement being done by the PA Fish and Boat Commission to provide better spawning territory . All additional funding will be put towards any project being completed on the river whether it be done by a state, federal, or local organization. Please take the time to research the history of the river, and help this remarkable success story continue to flourish for the generations to come.
