Crews work to install a log deflector device in Hendricks Creek.
Improving stream habitat isn’t the kind of thing you volunteer for if keeping your feet dry is a priority.
But if catching fish is?
Well, then that’s another story.
Tubmill Trout Club Unlimited – in what is an annual tradition – took on another stream habitat improvement project this summer. This time, it involved taking a 1,000-foot-long section of Hendricks Creek in Bolivar, Westmoreland County, that was 50 to 60 feet wide, shallow, slow moving and largely devoid of fish habitat and turning it into a stretch of creek that will hold trout and other fish in the future.
It wasn’t easy.
Some of the habitat work could be done by hand. other parts required using heavy equipment.
According to club president Lin Gamble, the work took five days to complete. Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission staff were involved, as was staff from the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy and volunteers from the Trout Club.
Multiple in-stream habitat devices were installed. They’ll do several things, but their primarily purpose is to direct water so that the main channel becomes 30 feet wide, Gamble said. That will result in a deeper channel where the water moves faster, thereby providing more oxygen.
“All are important components for trout survival,” Gamble said.
The project was not inexpensive. It cost $53,000.
Funding from a number of sources covered that. Partners were the Pennsylvania Coldwater Heritage Partnership, the Foundation for Pennsylvania Watersheds, Dominion Foundation, Conservancy, Fish and Boat Commission and the club.
Pennsylvania’s Growing Greener program kicked in money, too.
The money from the Foundation for Pennsylvania Watersheds in particular “is intended to support Tubmill Trout Club Unlimited’s efforts to restore Tub Mill Creek and preserve its valuable water resources,” Gamble said.
Volunteers from Tubmill Trout Club Unlimited have worked to improve a lot of water over the years.
The Coldwater Heritage Partnership grant, meanwhile, came through the state’s Department of Conservation and Natural Resources’ environmental stewardship fund.
Dominion provided its money via a grant funneled through the Conservancy.
Another project
Anyone wanting to learn more about Tubmill Trout Club Unlimited can do so this weekend. Representatives will appear at the Ligonier Country Market on Saturday.
The market is held on the Loyalhanna Watershed Association farm near the intersection of Route 30 and West Main Street. Hours are 8 a.m. to noon.
Club members will talk about their stream work, as well as something new. This year, it’s sponsoring Ligonier Valley Middle School’s outdoors club.
