The Mountain Watershed Association is now in its 19th year. Your support has helped to sustain our organization since its inception in 1994. For nearly two decades, we have made great strides toward the conservation, protection and restoration of the Indian Creek and greater Youghiogheny River watersheds. Allow us to take a moment to tell you about our recent accomplishments, and please consider downloading a copy of our 2013 Annual Report to learn more.
2013 Highlights:
• Expansion of the existing Indian Creek Valley Trail by 4 miles with completion of the Donegal Extension and Melcroft Spur and an additional segment in Springfield Township. We have also cleared an additional 2 miles and completed construction on 2 bridges. These small steps bring us closer to our goal of connecting the trail upstream with Linn Run State Park and downstream to the Youghiogheny River and Great Allegheny Passage.
• Establishment of a water quality monitoring program on the Youghiogheny River. This comprehensive plan is the first of its kind in the basin.
• Training over 100 people in our Marcellus Citizen Stewardship Project to monitor water quality. These dedicated volunteers assist in providing baseline water quality data as well as identifying impacts from shale gas drilling.
• Launching a brand new website which provides more opportunities to stay connected with our members and supporters.
However, despite our many recent successes, we still face significant challenges in the protection, conservation, and restoration of the water quality in our area. We are currently reviewing permits for several activities which could negatively impact the Laurel Highlands region. This includes a pre-application for a proposed deep mine in the Donegal & Saltlick areas. We have held a public meeting and engaged a hydrogeologist to review the pre-application. We are committed to protecting the watershed from this threat.
We continue to review permits, technical documents, and proposed regulations and legislation, and we provide comments as part of these processes. We are also working on stream redesignation petitions and unsuitable for mining petitions for sensitive areas across the watershed. This input will result in greater protections for land and water across our region.
MWA has secured over $6 million in project funding to clean up the pollution impacting our streams and lands. Beyond the beauty and health this restoration has brought, the Laurel Highlands will see an economic benefit as well. Every $1.00 invested in the clean-up of abandoned mine drainage in our watershed returns $2.40 to the local economy.
If you’ve not already, please consider joining or renewing your membership or making a tax deductible contribution. Your membership or contribution is one of the most powerful means for you to support the restoration, conservation and protection of the Laurel Highlands region and will allow us to continue this vital work in the Indian Creek and Yough River watersheds. Thank you!