By BRETT KRIEBEL
Clarion News writer
A grant received as part of the Clarion River being voted Pennsylvania’s 2019 River of the Year will go towards a cleanup of the waterway, Clarion Conservation District Resource Technician Tricia Mazik told the district’s board of directors during their Aug. 20 meeting.
The $500 grant is funded by the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources and the Pennsylvania Organization for Watersheds and Rivers.
Funds will cover the cost of dumpster rental, supplies, signs and a portion of transportation expenses for the scheduled Sept. 7 clean-up day.
Mazik told the board volunteers will meet at the Pale Whale Canoe Fleet in Cooksburg. According to Mazik, those interested in helping may register from 8 a.m. to 10 a.m. at the Cooksburg Caf located beside Pale Whale.
Pale Whale is allowing helpers without kayaks or canoes of their own to use from Pale Whale’s fleet at no charge during the cleanup.
Volunteers will clean up the river and surrounding streambanks. The operation will take place in groups of three. The first group will start at Pale Whale’s ten-mile launch site and work its way to a four-mile launch site down the river. A separate group will take care of the waters from the four-mile site until arriving to Cook Forest. There, a third and final group will clean the river from Cook Forest to Gravel Lick.
“We will probably need some help on the ground too if anyone is interested in volunteering and doesn’t feel like cleaning up the river,” Mazik noted. “It should be a really good day.”
A reception set to include pizza and prizes will follow the cleanup and is sponsored by the Clarion Conservation District, Iron Furnace Chapter of Trout
Unlimited and Backcountry Hunters and Anglers. Additional donations will come from businesses in the Cooksburg area.
The DCNR will also present a program based on recycling and sustainability.
MacBeth’s Cabins and Country Store is donating pizzas for the reception.
“It’s kind of a collaborative effort with lots of sponsors,” said Mazik. “We’re pretty excited about the event and celebrating our Clarion River.”
Other news
lThe first of three Nonpoint source pollution workshops hosted by the district has been given a date and time.
Mazik told the board the first workshop in the series focusing on invasive species will take place from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Sept. 21 at the Millcreek boat launch in Strattanville.
Registration is required to attend the workshop.
The DCNR, Natural Resources Conservation Service and Penn State Extension will provide speakers who will give insights on various species during the series of workshops.
“Millcreek boat launch had a couple different species we could view,” Mazik said. “We’ll discuss how to identify them and how to treat or manage the different species.”
lThe board voted to approve a nutrient management plan for Silver Stallions Stables, a horse riding operation near Cook Forest.
The plan addresses the export of horse manure. According to Mazik, the plan includes the installation of structures for water control and rain stabilization as well as an access road, vegetative treatment area, fencing, trails and walkways on the operation.
lDistrict Manager Trudy Alexander informed the board Erosion and Sediment/Dirt and Gravel Low Volume Road technician Alicia Ramsey, Mazik and she met with David Dunn and Denny Logue of the Clarion County Emergency Management Agency to discuss support the district could offer in the wake of flooding that ripped through the county on July 19.
“They reached out to us about what we might have available in support of any of the people that were subject to flooding or flood victims,” Alexander said, noting the district offered assistance to affected municipalities.
Alexander asked Dunn if he would inform townships to reach out to the district in the event they may need drainage or fill support. According to Alexander, Porter Township officials had contacted Ramsey.
Alexander believed the trio’s gathering with Dunn and Logue could lead to further cooperation between the groups in the future.
“It’s nice to meet with them because each agency didn’t really understand what the other one did,” Alexander said. “Now we understand more of what they do and they understand what we have to offer. I think we’ll have an ongoing partnership with the emergency response of the county.”