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From the
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2010
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20 0 *,as a year of renen'al. grorvth and expansion for the Jacobs Creek Watershed Association. Our many u,atershed improvement projects kept our technical people busy and nerv members and partnels contributed innovative and exciting irleas to propel us into 20 I i and beyond. Here are sorne highlights of our busy year: 1
JC\[A completed three significant rvatershed improi,ement projects in 2010: Greenlick Dan
-
ICWA's original Grori,ing Greener grant proposed to restore 325
feetoftheerodednortheasternshorelineofGreenlickDam. Duetoourpartnership q,ith the Pa. Fish and Boat Cornmission and frugal project management, JCWA ri,as able to restore tu,o eroded shorelines. In the end. or,er 800 t-eet of shoreline rvas stabilized. trvo u,etland areas wele created and valuaLrle fish habitat rvas built ivithin the dani. '[he stabilized shorelines rvill prevent an estimated 20 tons of sediment from enielng the lake every year. Stauffer Run - ICWA completed a desi-en for a passive mine drainage treatment system to treat acidic discharges from abandoned rnines that render Stauff-er Run lifeless. In 2011. JCWA ri,ill apply for a grant to construct these treatment
facilities.
Bob Slreck and Frank Rtnneo retnore tire.sJiout Greenlick Cleart-up arent
ltke during JCI\;A's Fal!
Scottdale Library Rain Garden/Reading Garden - iC$A partnered rvith Scottdale Library and Scottdale Borough to corlstruct a beautitul reading garden that actually helps prevent erosion in Jacobs Creek. Rain rvater from the library's roofdrains is used to rvater the rain garden florvers. The excess rvater is combined rvith rain water absorbed by the reading garden's porous pavement anci held in an underground collection area. This collected rain *'ater is released gradually to the streanl, preventin,r heavy rain flo*,s fronr eroding Jacobs Creek.
20l0rvasalsoanexcitingyearofgrorvthinareasotherthanstreamimprovemeniprojects. JCWAhasjumpedllomunderl0memberstoalnost40.including business and corporate members. We have a nerv and enthusiastic board rnember in Frank Romeo. rvho contributes innovative ideas, administers our Face Book page the local papers and JCWA u,as even featured in tu'o raclio shorv segments on WYEP's Allegheny Front program. Additionally, JCWA sponsored nvo bird outings, three stream clean-ups and an exciting summertinre rnember's picnic.
JCWA plans on making 20i I another productive year by increasing our community outreach events. conducting rnore stream monrtoring and completing more rvatershed projects. The projects scheduled to begin in 20l 1 include Scottdale Storm Water Retrofit - JCWA rvill renovate the palking lot across the street from the Scottdale Library bordering Spring Street, Mulbery Street and Pioneer Way. Bestlv{anagementPracticessuchasporouspa!ement,stormwatercollectionandgrassstripsrvithtreesandplantsrvillhelppreventstormwaterrunofffrom surging into Jacobs Creek and causing flooding and additional stream bank erosion. and creating ibur livestock crossings. This
projecnvill also repair and stabilize 2.500 feet ofsteeply eroded streanr banks along Brush Run.
cunently cause strearn erosion. JC\[A rvill also ivork to address erosion in a nearby field and conduct residential stream bank restorations. Shupe Run Restoration - JCWA n,ill work rvith lt{t. Pleasant Borough and N{t. Pleasant Torvnship to stabilize 2.000 Run as it flou,s through Willou,s Park.
JCWA ,'vas recently notified that rve are the recipients of trvo 201
1
Grorving Greener grants
1'eet
of severely eroded stream bank along Shupe
- a $69. i 00 grant to design an acid mine drainage
treatment system for
anunnamedtributaryofJacobsCreekalongRt.tl9anda54l,T00granttorestoreover1.000t'eetoferodedstreambankinUpperTyroneTorvnship. Theseadditional projects should keep us busy rvell into 201 2 and 20 I 3 I JCWA thanks our supporters and mernbers for your ideas and your help in 20 l0 - rve could not haye made watershed improvements, cleaned durnping sites and made the public au,are ofthe importance and beauty ofour rvatershed rvithout all ofyour support!
Geocaching - A high-tech way to enjoy Jacobs CreekWatershed In the year 2000 the United States government decided to unscranble some of the signals coming hom the militarv's -elobal positioning satellites. Entrepreneurial individuals and companres. realizing the value of the no*, freely available Global Positioning Systern (GPS). quickly capitalized upon civilran uses lol the signals Due to the release of this intbrmation. it u'as quickly realized that the old treasure hunt games of Letterboxing and Orienteerins could be taken to nerv levels utilizing both the Intemet and hand held GPS der,ices. On May ist of 2000. the signal u'as unscranrbled and ri'ithin days the first cache (a container rvith a logbook and tradable items inside) rvas hidden and found outside of Portland. Oregon. Br the end of 2000. the sporl rvould be named Ceocaching. and n'ebsites ri'ould spring up rvith listin-es of caches all over the *,orld.
Board of Directors Michael Barrick. P re s itle t Andy Dzurko , Vice President Susie Carmichael, S e c re t e,,'\, r r
Tim Glovola . Tt'easurer Sharyn Kmieciak Frank Romeo
Paricia
Exeative Director
Associates
hing at Greenlick Lake
Lerterboxing is the sport ofhiding a container and publishing clues to its rvhereabouts so people can find the container and log their visit. similar to a scavenger hunt. Orienteering is naYigating your \\'ay rvith map and compass along a predefined course ofcontrol points. Bcxh ofthese activities existed lon,e before the advent ofsatellites and coniputers.but it is the combination ofLetterboxing and Orienteerin_s rvith GPS and the Internet that has created the ivorld*'ide phenomenon ofGeocaching, In Geocaching. the hidden container is called a cache. the control points are called u'al,points and are given in GPS coordinates, and the clues tbr locating the cache ale posted to a rvebsite.
rvhichaterighthereu'ithintheJacobsCreeklVatershed. Thesenurnbersarefromjustoneolthemanl'*'ebsitesthatlist Geocaches and Letterboxes.
Ify'ouareinterestedinGeocaching.all youneedisaGPSunitandacomputerwithinternetaccess. Log-ontogeocaching" comoroileoftheotherGeocachingsitesandcreateanaccor.rnt. ExplorethemapsandcachedescriptionsibraGeocache that sounds interesting and start caching, I\{an1'caches u,ill take you to interesting historic or geologic features that }'ou lna)' hai'e other*'ise never visited. Some caches are quick glabs along roadrvays rvhile others are multi-tiered ad\entures throrr-sh wilderness areas. The significance and difficultl oi a cache is explainecl in detail in the cache's description.
Rob Cronauer frnore I atr cl C otr s en' ati o rt
Di str ic t
Mission Jacobs Creek Watershed Association is a non-profit organization dedicated to the
conservation of our natural resources. rehabilitation of the creek and watershed, environmental education and recreation.
For More Information P.O. Box 1071
Mt. Pleasant. PA 15666 Phone (724) 887-8220, ext. 3 Fax (724) 887-0195
Email jcrva@juno.com rvrvrv j acobscreekwatershed.org
As u'ith other sports there is terminologi that has gros n up along stafied:
* ith the same. Here
are a
feu Geocaching u,ords to get you
Cache: A container usualll containing a logbook and some sri'ag. The container can be any size and made of almost any ruraterial so keep an open rnind uhen sealchingl Stvag: "StuffWeAil Get"andreferstotradableiternssometime-sibundinacache.usualll'small toys. up to )'ou.
ivluggle:A person not associated u,ith Geocaching. A cache disturbed by FTF: "First to Find" or the first person to find TFTC: "Thanks for the cache"
a
Youcantradeornot.it'
a non-Geocacher is deemed to be muggled.
particulal cache.
a common s,ay to log a cache find.
Event Cashe: A gathering for Geocachers listed on a Geocaching rvebsite lvith coordinates to the event instead of a cache.
CITO: "Cache in Trash Out" is an Event Cache combined rvith clean-up. There is much more information on the Intemet about Geocaching. Wikipedia anicles on Geocaching. Letterboxing. and
Orienteeringareagreatplacetostan.ThereisalsoagreatarticleonthehistoryofGeocachin-eatgpsgames.org. Thetrvomosl popular Ceocache listing rvebsites are geocaching.com and navicache,corn but there are tnany. many mole. So rvhat are you u'aiting for? Log-on. dorvnload. and head-out! JCWA ivill be holding a Cache-ln-Trash-Out event at Jacobs Creek Park/Greenlick Lake on Sunday.
April
17
,20Il
at I :30 pm.
OurGeocachingfiiendsandtheCleann'aysolFal'etteCcluntyn'illhelprviththeevent. Allareencouragedtocone-I'oudon' havetobeageocachertoattend: ComehelpcleanaroundGreenlickLakeandlearnaboutthesportofgeocaching. Pleasevisi oureventscalendaronouru,ebsiteat rvrvrvjacobscreekrvatershed.org,call@724-887-S220.ext.3orsendanemailtojova@ juno'com for mot'e
details submitte
tr
b .Frank Romeo, JCWA board nrcntbe,
Watershed Words: Macroinvertebrates Have you ever looked into a stream and wondered if anything i-s lying under the pebbles and leaves on the bottom? Next time. turn over a rock and see what happens. You'll likely find a little crcature or two - these are called macroinvertebrates. Macroinvertebrates, or macros. are aquatic animals that are visible tothenakedeye(macro)andhavenobackbone(invertebrate).Theyliveundertherocks,leavesandsedimentatthebottomofourstreamsandponds. They are an important part of the aquatic food chain. as they eat dead and decaying plants and animals in the rvater and then are thenselves eaten by fish. Examplesofmacrosarecrayfish.snails.wormsandimmatureformsofaquaticinsects.suchasstonefliesandmayflies. Somemacros,suchaswaterstriders.
livealloftheirlivesinthervater.
allo*'ing nore and more
peopletojoininthehunt. Accordingtogeocaching.comthereareoveronemillionactivecachesri'orldrvide.fiiiyorsoof
Heather Forvler F qv ette C ounh, C on s en ati on Di str i c t
s
utd Ron ,qeocat
Toda1.. GPS enabled smart phones and inexpensive handheld GPS devices have become ubiquitous.
Rita Coleman PA DEP
IVe
RJ , Arutu
=jift "i."_,"
,i'
Olhers.suchasdragonflies,spendtheirearlystagesinthewaterbutliveoutsideofthewaterasadults.
Macros are an important indicator of how clean the water is and are used as a gage of water quality. Macros can't move r.ery far so they are unable to flee rvhen the water is dislurbed or when pollutants are present. This immobility and their relatively long lifespan helps make thenr reliable indicarors of water type and diversity ofmacros found in a srream are used to determine rvater qualitl.
When scientists find many species and lots of macros that can
onll live in clean, undisturbed rvater. it's a good indication
thar u.ater quality is good.
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Jacobs Creek Tour Bus
c'-.
\\'Ofersfeo.
Hightighting interesting places in our watershed
"og
fhe Confluence of Jacobs Creek und the Yough - Big Industry,A Miracle antl OItl Mun River ,fter flou,ing throu-eh the area knoln locally as Crick Hills. Jacobs Creek attens out and $'idens as it nakes its way to the Youghiogheny River.
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3
tanding on the bridge that crosses Jacobs Creek near the conlluence. it to imagine that only 200 years ago. l{ative Americans rvould have addled dugout canoes into thc Yough iiom Jacobs Creek.
; hard
,ooking south f}om the creek. the massive 160 feet tall 1582 feet long ianning Railroacl Trestle crosses the Youghioghenl River. Front this trestle. tilroad tlacks head tbr Crick Hills and link the Jacobs Creek Watershed to rainline lailroads and the rest olAmerica. The Banning Trestle ri'as built s part of a man's dream to complete the fi rst transcontinental railri'a1. Ja1 iould and his son George s,ould go broke pursuing the endeavor but this npressive K-Truss stl'le trestle. a rare design in Pennsi'lvania. stands as a HiJtori( ilt(tt k(r il(iling Ddn' :nrinder to their efforts.
Be The Change You Want To See In The World - Gandhi .llint rlistvtt
,ooking north from the mt'ruth of the creek. the St. Nicholas Orthodox Catholic Church at the outskirts of the tou'n of Jacobs lreek is clearly visible. Across the river is the torvn kno*'n as Van trleter and the site of the former Dan' coai mine In the clays
acable car.theJacobsCreek f theDarrtrline.thetownof.lacobsCreek*'asconnectecltoVantrleterandtheDatrminebl ki Ferry', For only a nickel. a pelson coLrld be shuttled over the Youghioghenl' River b1' the Sk1' Ferri' in a basket. b untlerstand the sisnificance of the Darrmine.ire need to go track in time to u'hen immigrant sorkets tolerated deplorabie rfety conclitions to eaLn a meagerliving in the coa|lines ofAmerica.The lack ofsafetl'standards in the mines canle to a 'agic cliniax in December of 1907. a month that cane to be knorvn as the ''Dleaded N{onth". Thousands cf people across the ountr'1'losr their lives in coahrining accidenrs during this month. On December 19th of this teffible month.240 nlen rt'ent to 'olk at the Darr l{ine. but only one came horne alive. This is the rvorst coalminitrg accident in Pennsl'lr'anian historl' and the )urth\\:olstinall oftheU,s.history. TheDarrNlineDisasterrr,asalsothelastlarge-scalerninedisasterintheUnitedStates. fier rvhich tougher lau,s rvere enacted and rnining safety standards rvere raised. 'he
accident u'ould have been much u,orse if it had not been for the Carpatho-Rttsyn Feastdal'of St. Nicholas. On the da1'of re disaster. over 200 men ofthe Onhodox Catholic faith uoLrld take a rare unpaid day offfrorn rvork to attend church senices. he Intersession of St. Nicholas at Daff Mine is considered a nrodern day miracle by rnany Orthodox Christians. People fl'om round the rvorld came to Jacobs Creek to remember the centennial oithe miracle in 2007 and visit the St. Nichoias Chulch uilt bl,unemployed ancl lair.l-off coalminers in 1960. Thev ivould also visit the nearby Olive Branch Cenetery rvhere a mass lave of sorne 71 poor and unidentified miners bodies are buried.
ookingacrosstheliverfromJacobsCreektodal,.thegobpiles.orspoils.iiomtheoldminesareclearll'visibie.
TheDan
rine closed for a time after the disaster of 1907. but rvas reopened as the Banning Number 3 rnine fiom l9l0 until it closeci tbr ood in 1919. AIso. across the river is the nearll' complete Great Allegheny Passage. a coutinuous bike trail front Washington r.C. to Pittsburgh PA that is burlt upon abandoned railroad beds. ' you u,ould like to see this historic alea for yourself. follos, Rt. 98 1 to Sr.rithton PA. Travel south off of Rt. 98 1 onto Second treet. torvards the Jones Brervery Cornpanl,. Second Street becomes State Route 3029: follorv this road soutlt along the river rr about a mile to the torvn of Jacobs Creek. Tl-re St. Nicholas Church is obvious as 1'ou leave the south end ol torvn. The
Members and volutlteer efforts hclp the JC\\'A to continue our mission. Without them the strength of our voice and the power of our actions is diminished.
Please become a
MEMBER today. You'll be glad you did! Yes! I waflt to help preserve and protect the Jacobs CreekWatershed
Date Name
Address
Phone
Far
Enail
:nfluenceofJacobsCreekandtheYoughioghenyRiverisashortdistancesouthoftheChurch. TheBanningTrestleis nother quarter mile south of the confluence.
Annual Memberships
o see the nriner's nrass grave at the Olive Branch Cemeter;'. tlavel north on Rt.981 from Smithton. It is *'orth nlentionin-s the mithton Trail. palt of the Great Allegheny Passage. and the Youghioghenl' River access are to your ri-eht just after Iou cross re Youghiogheny Rivel on the way out of Smithton. The Olir.e Branch Cemetery, is about a mile from Snithton and is marked 'ith a roadside Pennsylvania Hisrorical and Museum Commission sign explaining the Dan Mine disaster'. Subnitted bv Frank Ronteo, JCIYA board ntember
Attention bird end nature enthusiasts
-
spring is coming!
Have vou noticed that it's staying light latel each day norv? Soon. trout lilies, bloodloots and ofher Pennsylvania rvildflorvers \\'ill be popping up and our miglatory friends rvill be flying back into the rvatershed. It's tirne to clean your binoculars and dig out 1'our hiking boots so you're ready forJCWA's spring bird and nature rvalk at the Jacobs Creek Wetlands.
Ve*norekntl Bird & Nature Club und JCIYA tnenbers ie* ing birtls
crt
Jutobs Creek llletland.s
JCWA rvas forlunate enough to partner rvith area bird experts to hold trvo bird outings in the past year and has another planned for spring 201 l. In lv{ay and September of 2010. Westmoreland Bird and Nature Club (WBNC) mernbers led JCWA mentbers on bird and natnre rvalks at'the Jacobs Creek Wetlands, These outdoor adventures
leftJCWAparticipantsinarveofWBNCmembers'vastknorviedgeof
S 5 Snrdent
-
Sl0 Individual
-
S20 FamilY
-
S50 Organization
-
$75 CorPorate
lv{ake checks payable to:
Jacobs Creek Watershed Association P.O. Box 1071 Mt. Pieasant, PA 15666
Phone (72'1) 887-8220, ext. 3
notjustbirdsbuteverythingoutdoors. WBNC
r they reflected that in the narne of the club. JCWA rvill follou, Torn's gLridance and rename our future bird outings as 'bird and nature' olttings.
elted King Fishers. Red Winged Black Birds and so many other birds greeted us on those mornings.
n the Westrnoreland
Bird and Nature Club. please visit rvu,rv.rvestol.corl/torvheeAvbnc.htm.
P.O. Box
i07i
Mt. Pleasant. PA 15666
Spring 2011
JCWA HistorY Corner First Suspension Bridge in the United States
JCWA and Partners'Upcoming Events llareh 22: JCWA Board meeting - 6:30 pm at the Scoit-
In a quiet, unmarked area along a rvell-travelled road in the heart of the Jacobs Creek Watershed is the location of little knorvn historical first - the site of the first iron suspension bridge built in the United States If you have ever travellecl on Mt. Pleasant Road on lour rvay to the Countrl'side Shopping Plaza. l'ou'r'e likelv passed a place commonly knorvn as the "Iron Bridge" area. Fes, people realize that this is the site u here Judge Jantes Finlel' built the first chain link. level-deck suspension bridge. a
James Finley (1756-1828) is cornmonly knos,n as the Fatherofthe ivlodern Suspension Bridge, even though he had
noformal engineelingbackground, JudgeFinleylivedinUniontorvnandservedasaJusticeofthePeace.Countl' CommissionerandJudgeoftheCourtofCommonPleas. Thelate 1700'srvasatimeof greatgrou'thanddevelopnent Judge inthenervlytbrmedUnitedStates. AsAmericagrerv,sodidtheneedlormoreroadsandstrongerbridges. Finley saiv this need anil cleveloped a design for a suspension blidge that s'ould be stronger and more stable. to accornmodite horse and wagon travel. He improvecl on the age olcl "srvinging suspension bridge" by designing his bridge
rvitharigid.leveldeckrvhichpreventedthesurfacefromsaggingasheavyivagonspassed.
Hisdesignwasthelirstto
include rvrouglrt iron chains to suspend the bridge. making it much slronger than ivooden bridges Judge Finie,u" u'as
anxioustoteithisnervdesign,butrvherervouldthebridgebeplaced') Trvoborderingcountiesjoinedtogethertohelp ivith that decision. Portions olthe Fayette County and Westmorelancl County bordel are fbrmed by Jacobs Creek. In 1800, the main road benveen Uniontown in Fayette County and Greensburg in Westmoleland Counq' had no bridge to cross Jacobs Creek. People hatl to tvait on the banks to be f'eried across the streani. When Fayette and Wesnnoreland counties agleed to jointly pay for the cosr of constructing a bridge across Jacobs Creek, they chose Judge Finley to build his nervly designed suspension bridge. The bridge *'as built in 1801 tbr a cost oi 5600.00. It spanned 70 feet and rvas 12thfeervicle. The briclge pertbrmecl rvell until it s,as demolished in 183-l and replaced by a timber bridge. To this da1,, it is regarded as rhe link betryeen the ancient rope bridges and the modeln day sttspension bLidges, like the Goltien Cate Bridge in Srn Francisco.
An historical market commemorating James Finley's notable suspension bridge stands in front ol the Uniontou'n LibraryonJeffersonStreetinUnionto\\,n- Nosignsormarkersareattheactualsiteofthebridge.possiblybecause there is still uncertainty to the exact location of the bridge. Most believe the historic bridge rvas located along Jacobs Creek directly beneath the bridge that caries Rt. I 19 over the Iron Bridge area. Untbrtunately, this trnntarked historic site has become an area fbr illegal dumping, This past June, tires, shingles. mattresses, a couch and enough litter to fill an entire roll-off box rvere removed from the site during JCWA's summer ciean-ttp. The area rvili be closed for construction this summer. but JCWA rvill make this an annual summer clean-up site in the filture. If you'd like to help JCWA clean up a notable area in the rvatershed. please join us in the sunrmer of 2012 to help clean up a site that
dale Borough Building. Please come and share your idea - there rvill be light refreshments aud a door prize I
tr{arch 29: Gravel Drivervays & Unpaved Lanes Workshop - 7:00 pm to 8:00 pm at the Westmoreland Consena tion District. Register by IUarch 25th - cost is 55.00. CalI'7 24-837 -527I or visit rvu n.rvcdpa.com.
April 2: Pick
up trees from Fayette County Consenatior District's Spring Tree Sale @' the Fayette County Fair-
grounds. 9:00 am to 2:00 prn.
April 9: Mountain
Watershed Association's Clean Water Banquet & SilentAuction - 5:00 pm at Brady's Restaurat Call 724-455-4200 or visit wrvw.mtwatershed.con.
April 17: Cache-ln-Tlash-Out Event
at Greenlick Lake
April 30: Mountain Watershed Association's Annual Wildflorver rvalk - 9:00 am at the Indian Creek Gorge. C 724-455 -420A or visit rvrvrv.mtrvatershed.com. N{ay 24: Fayette County Children's Water Festival at the Fa]ette County Fairgrounds, Call724-437-29 l4 or visit n'rvrr.fayettecd.org.
June 18: JCWA's surnmer clean-up - site to be announce Ultit,"1y1"'jacobscreekrvatershed.org events page or call 724-887-8220. ext.3. September 16: 10th Annual Riffle Run Golf Scramble a' Donegal Highlands Golf Course. Call 724-887-8220. ext or visit ivrvrv.jacobcreekivatershed.org f'or rnore details.
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dcscri'cs recoenition. not littering.
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Jacobs Creek Park. Clean the park and geocache. if you', like. lv{eet at the main pavilion at 1:30 pm. Bags, gloves reireshments and trash provided. Call 724-887-8220. ext or visit rvrvljacobscreekrvatershed.org events page.
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