PennypackFlyer wrote:
Are we trout fisher people a little selfish? Are we so willing to have the temp and flow of a river changed just so that we can trout fish?
What of the population of insects/fish/mammals that already live there? how will they be effected?
While were at it - why don't we stock salmon in the Delaware
Did you read the article and/or do any research on what the PFBC and many TU as well well as conservation groups are trying to do with this initiative?
The first is Quemahoning Reservoir just south of Hollsopple in Somerset County. Dam construction on Quemahoning Creek was completed way back in 1913.
Quemahoning Creek classified is a cold-water fishery it suffers from AMD from coal mines. For decades TU, FBC and many other groups have tried to remediate the AMD.
Francis E. Walter Dam on the Lehigh River on Carbon and Luzerne counties near Whitehaven is also a candidate.
The Lehigh has wild trout right now and it's beginning to blossom because of a lot of groups work to clean up the River itself as well as the tribs.
The commission is currently evaluating flow models from that flood-control dam, owned and operated by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, to determine what releases are needed to create a tailwater trout fishery.
Miko noted that the dam’s tower might need to be modified to allow for more bottom releases, and there has been talk of increasing the reservoir’s 80-acre pool to store more cold water.
Lake Wallenpaupack, a hydro-electric dam on Wallenpaupack Creek near Hawley, is the third candidate for creating a tailwater trout fishery.
Wallenpaupack creek is another stream that's a cold water stream but suffers from warm water released by the dam
On the border of Pike and Wayne counties, it is owned by PP&O. Miko said the agency is currently negotiating with power company officials about cold-water releases.
Raystown Dam in Huntingdon County is the fourth candidate selected by commission staff.
Raystown Lake is the largest lake that is entirely within Pennsylvania. It is a hydroelectric project. The 8,300-acre reservoir was completed in 1973 by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
Created primarily to control floods, provide electricity and support recreational activities, Raystown dam is currently releasing warm water into the Raystown Branch of the Juniata River.
I'm not sure if the Juniata was ever a cold-water fishery. The Raystown branch flows into the Juniata near the Point. I can attest that SMB thrive in to the water like in the mainstem below the dam on the Delaware River.
Cannonsville Reservoir is also on the commission’s list. The reservoir in Delaware County, New York, was formed by impounding more than half of the West Branch of the Delaware River.
The westernmost of New York City’s reservoirs, put in service in 1964, it is the most recently constructed New York City-owned reservoir.
The commission is involved in complex multi-agency, multi-state negotiations with New York City to increase Cannonsville Dam’s cold-water releases.
The Delaware River West Branch and upper Mainstem is a world class wild trout fishery right now.
The final dam under consideration for the tailwater trout initiative is Beltzville Dam.
The Pohopoco is a wild and stocked trout fishery right now.
A U.S. Army Corps of Engineers flood control project, the dam on Pohopoco Creek creates a 951-acre lake in Carbon County.
Beltzville Dam is already required to meet cold-water release requirements, Miko conceded, but must do better.
Of all the above, Beltzville is the no-brainer. No real money or anything needed, just a good valve-man (or woman) at the controls...'bout time.
Pennypack, what is it about the Tailwater initiative the PFBC is undertaking do you oppose?
