The Coldwater Heritage Partnership has announced more than $75,000 in grants have been awarded to local organizations to protect and conserve Pennsylvania’s coldwater streams.

The application period for the next round of grants will be opening September 15 and close December 25.

Grant funds for the Coldwater Heritage Partnership are provided by Department of Conservation and Natural Resources Community Conservation Partnerships Program Environmental Stewardship Fund, the Fish and Boat Commission, the Foundation for Pennsylvania Watersheds and the PA Council of Trout Unlimited.

The purpose of the CHP is to provide leadership, coordination, technical assistance, and funding support for the conservation and protection of Pennsylvania’s coldwater streams. The program awards planning and implementation grants to conservation organizations in an effort to protect and conserve Pennsylvania’s coldwater resources.

The planning grant is awarded to organizations to create a coldwater conservation plan that evaluates the biological, physical, and chemical features of the stream or watershed to identify potential threats, impacts, and opportunities and compile recommendations for future protection.

The implementation grant is awarded to organizations to complete projects listed as recommendations in Coldwater Conservation Plans or similar documents. Potential projects must conserve, protect, or enhance the resources.

Grants have been awarded to the following organizations:

-- Coldwater Conservation Plans

-- Eastern Coalition for Abandoned Mine Reclamation: $4,750 for Huntsville Creek (Luzerne County) Assessment of naturally reproducing trout population, aquatic connectivity, macroinvertebrates, culvert assessments and identification of potential restoration and improvement projects.

-- Cumberland Valley Trout Unlimited Chapter: $5,000 for Letort Spring Run (Cumberland County) Cold-water Conservation Plan between I-81 overpass and headwaters.

-- Brodhead Watershed Association: $5,000 for Mill Creek and Rattlesnake Creek (Monroe County) Assessment of water quality, fish surveys, macroinvertebrate study, chemical analysis

and to identify and recommend future project sites.

-- Western Pennsylvania Conservancy: $5,000 for Big Run (Jefferson County) Assessment and Coldwater Conservation Plan development.

-- Coldwater Implementation Projects

-- American Rivers: $8,000 for Garmintown Dam removal on West Branch

of Susquehanna River (Cambria County).

-- Perkiomen Valley Trout Unlimited Chapter: $8,000 for Hosensack Creek (Montgomery County) stream bank reconstruction and in-stream habitat restoration.

-- Delaware Riverkeeper Network: $8,000 for Pickering Creek (Chester County) Experimental Eel return to control invasive crayfish and restore structure and function of a healthy cold-water stream.

-- Tubmill Trout Club Unlimited: $8,000 for Hendricks Creek – Florek Farm (Westmoreland County) stream habitat improvement for trout and Hellbender salamanders.

-- Heritage Conservancy: $7,310 for Cooks Creek (Bucks County) stream buffer improvements.

-- Bushkill Stream Conservancy: $8,000 for Bushkill Creek (Northampton County) riparian buffer installation, stream bank stabilization, stormwater runoff reduction and aquatic habitat improvements.

-- Western Pennsylvania Conservancy: $8,000 for Keal Run (Indiana County) aquatic organism passage restoration and in-stream habitat improvements.

For more information, visit the Coldwater Heritage Partnership website.  Questions should be directed to Program Director Ashley Wilmont at 814-359-5233 or by sending email to: c-awilmont@pa.gov.  for project information or how to apply to the Coldwater Heritage Partnership.

Information about plans, reports, and photographs from previous grant awardees can also be found on the Coldwater Heritage Partnership website.

(Reprinted from the Spring 2019 Pennsylvania Trout newsletter from the PA Council of Trout Unlimited.  Click Here to sign up for your own copy (top page).  Click Here to support their work.  Click Here to find a local Chapter near you.)

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5/13/2019