Mountain Watershed Association Members Protect and Enhance Their Home

The Watershed Assistance Center has worked with more than 200 local grassroots watershed groups in the past four years. Our work with the Mountain Watershed Association was a natural partnership of two groups with strong commitments to restore the natural beauty of western Pennsylvania. WPC has assisted the Mountain Watershed Association in obtaining permits for restoration work and by providing technical assistance on abandoned mine drainage remediation.

Millions of people travel through the Indian Creek watershed in southeastern Westmoreland and northeastern Fayette counties each year without realizing they are at the center of a compelling story of community self-reliance and resource conservation.


Members and supporters of the Mountain Watershed Association (MWA) know the Indian Creek watershed well. MWA was formed in 1994 by a small group of residents who got together around a kitchen table to share their concerns about the potential reopening of an underground coal mine in the watershed. The group was already aware of the negative impact existing discharges from long-abandoned mines were having on Indian Creek. A study by MWA indicated that years of coal mining resulted in more than 100 abandoned mine discharges which impaired the health of the watershed and degraded the image of the communities.

These concerns, combined with a realization that the environmental health of the area was closely linked to the significant tourism economy of the region, pulled MWA together in an ambitious, but realistic, program to restore its degraded streams. Putting real and visible projects on the ground has helped MWA become recognized within the local community and throughout the state as a “can do” organization.

The Indian Creek watershed contains many high-quality and attractive stream segments, some of which harbor native populations of brook trout. For a short distance, Indian Creek is visible from the Pennsylvania Turnpike where the highway winds over Laurel Ridge between Donegal and Somerset. Motorists traveling from near and far can glimpse its pools, cascades and rapids before it drops out of sight into Forbes State Forest. The headwaters flow from the flanks of the great Laurel Ridge, embracing more than 120 square miles of forest, farmland, mountain villages and abandoned mines.

The group has persevered for nearly six years to protect the headwaters of Indian Creek from mining activities. Consultants hired by MWA to study the potential impact of a proposed new stone quarry documented how the project would negatively impact the network of springs that form the source of the stream.

MWA is also working to win permanent protection for the Indian Creek Gorge below Mill Run Reservoir to improve water quality and preserve the uncommon natural beauty created by its many waterfalls. Other projects the group has implemented include:

Western Pennsylvania Conservancy began examining the water quality in the Laurel Highlands when it funded and allotted staff to aid in the compilation of the Laurel Hills Study in 1975, a document that represented the first attempt to strike a balance between conservation and development in the region. One of the recommendations from the study was to encourage developers to explore new ideas for strip mine controls in high-quality watersheds like Indian Creek. To read excerpts from this study, visit our website at www.paconserve.org/lhs

• acquisition of two miles of aban- doned rail line, which will expand the Indian Creek Valley Hiking and Biking Trail;
• development of the Indian Creek Streambank Stabilization Project near Jones Mills;
• installation of the Mill Creek Streambank Stabilization Project in Mill Run;
• construction of the Gallentine Opening Acid Mine Drainage (AMD) Remediation Project, named for the mine portal where miners entered the Indian Creek Coal and Coke Mine; and
• implementation of the Max B. Noble Remediation Project (named to honor the coal mine operator who owned and subsequently donated the property and his support to the project) along Rt. 711 near Indian Head.
  

While protection of Indian Creek’s natural resources is a high priority for MWA, innovative fundraising has been a key factor in the group’s success. Its diverse fundraising strategies range from modest community events to seeking and procuring large grant awards.

Through its education and outreach programs, MWA makes presentations to students in elementary, high school and college classrooms, conducts nature walks and educational site visits for residents and visitors, and sponsors field trips for scouting groups. It has produced and distributed brochures aimed at protecting the rights of local landowners, and conducts media workshops for MWA officers and representatives.

Much of the success of the Mountain Watershed Association can be attributed to its steadfast commitment and focus. It formed to address a single but significant threat to Indian Creek. Since then, the group has never wavered from its original intent to protect, restore and enhance its community and its local natural niche in western Pennsylvania. For more information on MWA activities, or to get involved, phone the MWA office at 724-455-4200. To learn more about Western Pennsylvania Conservancy’s Watershed Assistance Center visit our website at www.paconserve.org or call our offices at 724-459-0953.

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