Blackleggs Creek Watershed Association
Contact Information
OSM/VISTA: Althea KirschSupervisor: Mike Duffalo
Sponsoring Organization: Blackleggs Creek Watershed Association
Address: P.O.Box 59, Clarksburg PA 15725
Phone: 724.639.3002
E-Mail: ladyothelake41@adelphia.net mduffalo@adelphia.net
U.S. Congressional Districts: 12th
County: Indiana
Background:
The Blackleggs Creek Watershed is in western Pennsylvania in the heart of Appalachian Coal Country. It is an area that was once very prosperous with coal mines but now has a high poverty rate and degraded environment due to the unregulated coal mining industry of the early 1900s. Blackleggs mission is to restore the Blacklegs Creek watershed to its natural condition so that it may support a healthy aquatic habitat from the headwaters to its confluence with the Kiskiminetas River. The Blackleggs Creek Trout Nursery was established on February 13, 1986 by a number of concerned sportsmen and women in an attempt to get sections of Blackleggs Creek on the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission (PFBC) approved trout waters list, which was a difficult task due to severe water quality impairments. Our efforts to improve the area trout fishing encouraged us to expand our goals to include the root causes of our watershed problems and to establish the Blackleggs Creek Watershed Association in 1998.
Our OSM/VISTA is charged with public relations activities, volunteer recruitment, event and fundraising coordination, grant writing, administration of the Blackleggs office and AMD projects, and the establishment of several additional environmental projects.
Goals and Accomplishments:
In the first two years of OSM/VISTA sponsorship, we have been extremely successful and have made great strides towards our mission. Our OSM/VISTA has made great impacts on our organization by increasing membership and volunteers, garnering additional funding for projects, promoting our organization through various public relations methods, and educating the community through countless events. Our OSM/VISTA has managed 6 AMD remediation projects and 10 grant contracts.
Partners and Contributors
- Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection - Project partners
- Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission - Project partners
- Saltsburg Community Memorial Association - office space
- Conemaugh and Young Township supervisors - Project support
- Saltsburg and Nowrytown Sportsmans Clubs - meeting place and project support
- Kiski-Conemaugh Stream Team - Water quality sampling volunteers and support
- Western Pennsylvania Conservancy's Watershed Assistance Center - Project partners, technical support, office space, volunteers
- Indiana County Conservation District - Project partners and project support
- Indiana University of Pennsylvania - Federal Serve Study workers
- PA Cleanways - project partners
- Skelly and Loy Engineering-Environmental Consultants
- Western Pennsylvania Conservancy in partnership with Dominion Gas
- Wetlands Construction Co.