The Coldwater Heritage Partnership recently announced that over $35,000 in grants have been awarded to local organizations to protect and conserve Pennsylvania’s coldwater stream habitats.

The Coldwater Heritage Partnership is a cooperative initiative among Pennsylvania Trout Unlimited, the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, the Fish and Boat Commission, and the Western Pennsylvania Watershed Program.

“Pennsylvania Trout is excited to award grants to worthy organizations for the conservation and protection of their local streams,” said Ken Undercoffer, President of the Pennsylvania Council of Trout Unlimited.

Funded organizations will be responsible for creating a Coldwater Conservation plan that: gathers existing data about the coldwater ecosystem; identifies potential impacts, threats, problems and opportunities to our coldwater streams; formulates a plan of action for proposed conservation and protection strategies; and, builds community awareness and support for the conservation of our coldwater streams.

Grants have been made to the following organizations:

· $5,000 to the Schuylkill County Conservation District to develop a conservation management plan to maintain access and preserve the water quality of Cold Run;

· $3,860 to Milesburg Borough, on behalf of the Bald Eagle Watershed Association, to assess Wallace Run in Centre County and create a conservation plan for the watershed;

· $5,000 to the Conemaugh Valley Conservancy on behalf of the Kiski-Conemaugh Stream Team to create a conservation plan to lay guidelines and recommendations for the restoration and protection of the Tubmill Creek basin in Westmoreland County;

· $4,400 to the Cameron County Conservation District to conduct an assessment and evaluation on Canoe Run, including water quality analysis, habitat analysis, rapid bioassessment, rod and reel survey and an evaluation of problems such as AMD, acid deposition, erosion and lack of riparian vegetation;

· $5,000 to the Bushkill Stream Conservancy to create a conservation plan, assess the coldwater resources, and determine the feasibility of upgrading sections of the Upper Bushkill Creek to Class A wild trout;

· $4,650 to the Blair County Chapter of Trout Unlimited on behalf of the Blair County Conservation District to expand upon existing watershed studies and identify restoration project locations on Plum Creek;

· $4,300 to the Watershed Alliance of Adams County to create a baseline assessment of Middle Creek, including macroinvertebrate surveys, water chemistry collection, and a habitat assessment;

· $5,000 to Northampton County Conservation District to document baseline data for Fry’s Run that will serve as a foundation for water resource protection through prioritized recommendations and an increase in community awareness; and

· $4,800 to the Columbia County Conservation District on behalf of the Roaring Creek Valley Conservation Association to conduct physical stream assessments and collect biological and chemical data to create a conservation plan for future activities.

Besides offering grants, the Coldwater Heritage Partnership works to provide technical and educational assistance to organizations interested in protecting coldwater ecosystems.

For additional information, please contact the Partnership’s Coldwater Resource Specialist Deborah Nardone at 814-359-5233, or visit the Coldwater Heritage website.

5/18/2007