Requesting advice/help from the TU guys on the site

[mike_richardson]

Im a firm believer anymore that unless you can show people something great, an then show that they are being robbed, they are less likely to act.

That is why i want to start with this small scale improvements on this stretch of headwaters. Show people just how great this stream really is. Then show what happens after the hughes borehole kills every ounce of life in the stream.

Take them to the headwaters and let them catch trout, show them the ecosystem, how there are bugs, all of that.

Take them down stream and do some macro studies. Show them how terrible it is that a company is making money off of the same mine that they purchased, that is has been killing a stream not just in our area, but one that flows for miles and miles, then kills other streams that flow into it. The worst is that this company probably just pays the fines (wich is probably cheaper, and more economically efficient) than actually fixing the problem

I want to build a good foundation of public support. The more people i can get involved the better for the "BIG PICTURE" you have to start somewhere.

It is sad to me that this stream is at the head of water flow, the eastern continental divide. My drinking water is probably the best in the state. But as green Weenies said "IT ROLLS DOWN HILL" So in essence, not only are these bore holes robbing the life from the stream in our area, but also ruining life everyplace down stream, no water can be pulled from this for drinking.

Hopefully i can create a big angry mob and make some heads roll....... Just kidding but it would be nice to see a bunch of support and get something done.

 

[mike_richardson]

You can't save the world working on headwaters.

great point and I agree with that, but i think building up a good public view of importance of a stream and having something that they can feel "a connection" with will make them more likely to act.

Getting that foundation is important to get the big picture solved.

 

[jdaddy]

mike_richardson wrote:
You can't save the world working on headwaters.

great point and I agree with that, but i think building up a good public view of importance of a stream and having something that they can feel "a connection" with will make them more likely to act.

Getting that foundation is important to get the big picture solved.

I agree with your approach. A non-impaired headwater is the the perfect place to show people how "it should be". Then take then down stream and show them what a #censor# show "they" have created.

 

[NickR]

I hear a whole lot of "I, me, I, me, I, me, I" here. Ah, what do I know I just want to be an Indian and not a cheif. I prefer words like "we" and "us". Kind of makes you one of us if that makes sense. Get a core group of supporters and make it happen. Good luck!

 

[bikerfish]

mike_richardson wrote:
The stream improvements i am talking about arr in the upper end. The hughes borehole is below the area i am speaking of.

I imaginge a few native trout could have came down from bens creek and made residence. I had asked my fish commission contact if we could shock and see if there were any natives or potential wild trout.

I think if we can make the public see how great this stream really is they can see how they are being robbed in its lower section. I think once this stream has a few improvements to redice the stress of the fish in the summer months it could really take off. The more public that is involved the more voices for getting something done about the hughes.

Ok, wasn't sure where in the watershed the borehole was located. If that thing was located right at the source, I was gonna say, wow, your kinda pissing up a rope trying to fix that! But if there is decent water above it that isn't affected, then it sounds like a viable plan.

 

[mike_richardson]

Yeah, maybe i should have clarified the big picture first a little better.

I use the words I, me, right now because i am just scratching the surface on devising the plan. I want to have a decent presentation of our meeting this upcoming mont and then start branching out and try to put together a steering committee.

There will be a trout rodeo in May, sponsored by our local fire departement on this upper stretch. The club will be donating all of the fish for this. I figure that with the fact that we donate the fish might get a few more people to give me and my organization the ime of day. I need to put a good presentation together and gain permission to have a seminar/ display. Pictures/ videos, the whole kit and caboodle. I plan on having a stream clean up the week after so with all of the guys fishing in the tournament i should be able to get a little more help and awarenss. There will be a lot of people there to witness this first hand. Granted there are fish stacked on top of each other for the "rodeo" but maybe thats the type of propaganda I need of what the stream could be down stream. 😉

I know its sneaky/propaganda, but you gotta do what you gotta do. The ducks are slowly getting in a row, but this project will take years and millions of dollars to get totally completed, at least from Lilly to South Fork, roughly 7 or 8 miles of stream, but with the right foundation, and a decent group of well educated (people who are taught the effects of AMD, coldwater ecosystems, and such) we can get something done.

If not us, then who?

 

[troutbert]

At this link you'll find a list of groups already working in the watershed. Including the Little Conemaugh River Watershed Association.

http://www.scrippa.org/resources.shtml

 

[mike_richardson]

Thanks for the link troutbert

many of the links are outdated, and contact information is not up to date but I can go from here to reach out to other organizations.

 

[hbgbswanson]

mike_richardson wrote:
at least from Lilly to South Fork, roughly 7 or 8 miles of stream, but with the right foundation, and a decent group of well educated (people who are taught the effects of AMD, coldwater ecosystems, and such) we can get something done.

If not us, then who?

http://www.equities.com/news/headline-story?dt=2013-01-27&val=970601&cat=energy

 

[mike_richardson]

Great link.

I was planning on contacting Denis Beck this week, now that I have a base for my small scale project. He is a personal friend of mine. I used to do water quality testing and things of that nature with him. As I had said earlier I had hear rumors of this 5 million dollar project but glad to see it is true. He had been talking of linking these discharges together to form 1 main treatment area. He told me this would be very difficult to get done but im hopeful. Makes a world more sense to only have one discharge to clean. This will take many years just to get the desing phase completed. In the mean time, this will only help with my consern of educating the public and will definetly increase the ammount of volunteers. I think many people may have thought it to be an unobtainable goal to secure the kind of funding needed to clean up this stream.

Just hope that it pans out as well. I am trying to think of what will need be done to clean up the deposites on the stream bed and such downstream from the last decades of settlement. You can see some areas of the bank where the iron oxide is 2 to 3 ' thick. Wonder if they will be able to just be swept down stream naturally.

I'm sure there will still need to be tons of work to be done to get it restored, and fish and aquatic insects returning. Just happy to see 5 mil being put out to improve this area. Still kind of stinks that it is still based on profit but I guess beggers can't be choosers.

Maybe I may one day get to fish this stream well below this borehole and it will just be a bad memory.

 

[GreenWeenie]

I did not mean source as source of stream but rather source of the problem irrespective of where it is physically located.

 

[kissell59]

Thanks Chaz,

I am in the early stages of getting a group together with my current organization first. I agree that a stream clean up is sort of a feel good thing, but i could get a few more people interested in helping my main objective.

IF I cant make ground with this I may look elsewhere. Once I get a "foundation" of volunteers and such I will reach out to the PAFBC. I am really interested in this type of assessment and may even try and pursue a degree in Biology, once I finish up my Gen Ed, classes.

The holdovers I am talking about I would rule out being wild. Maybe this is not a justified belief but catching multiple 16"+ rainbows in a stream that was heavily polluted 5 years ago does not seem too plausible that they are wild, but i will not say it is 100% impossible.

I will let you know how the meeting gos, and may seek advice from your given your expansive resume of stream improvement projects dates back to before I was born 😉

have you heard any information about the new water treatment plant supposedly going into Portage? Timeline, truth, any info? lol