Restoration work to occur August 18-22, weather permitting
PITTSBURGH, PA – August 14, 2025 –Fish such as brook trout, brown trout, bass and muskie in Salmon Creek will have improved habitat, thanks to a project being implemented in mid-August by the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy in partnership with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and Forest County Conservation District.
A tributary to the Allegheny River that connects to Tionesta Creek in the Allegheny National Forest and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Tionesta Lake floodway area, Salmon Creek is popular with anglers, hikers and outdoor enthusiasts. The project will occur August 18 through 22, weather permitting, just upstream of Tionesta Creek behind the USACOE campground in Kelletville, Forest County.
Luke Bobnar, watershed projects manager with the Conservancy, says the project aims to reduce streambank erosion and sedimentation in the stream, as well as improve habitat and cover for fish and other aquatic species.
“We’ll be installing four structures, including rootwad revetments and rootwad deflectors, near the mouth of Salmon Creek,” Luke explains. Using the root masses of fallen trees, rootwad revetments provide bank stabilization and overhanging cover for a diversity of aquatic species. Rootwad deflectors direct high velocity water flows away from eroding banks.
“Additionally, fine sediment accumulates in the less turbulent water downstream of the deflector, and eventually aids in building streambanks and wetlands,” Luke says. “Resident or even stocked fish sometimes hang out in these structures, and at times fish will make migratory runs out of the dam backwaters.”
While fish and other aquatic wildlife will gain improved habitat from this project, “There will be evidence of construction at the site and downstream while we are there working,” Luke says, noting that there will be machinery in the creek to install the habitat structures. “Some muddy water is expected, but water quality will not be affected during construction,” he adds. “The long-term benefits will be well worth any short-term disturbance.”
Trees and stone will be entrenched into the stream bottom and banks to prevent erosion. This technique creates natural-looking habitat structures that benefit all fish in all life stages.
During the next year, the Conservancy and its partners will plant riparian, or streamside, trees to reestablish woody vegetation at the site.
Friends of Reservoirs and the Forest County Conservation District provided financial assistance for the project.
For more information about the Salmon Creek habitat improvement project, please contact Kylie Maland, WPC’s watershed manager for Lake Erie and Ohio River basin, at 814-776-1114 or kmaland@paconserve.org.
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About the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy
The Western Pennsylvania Conservancy (WPC) enhances the region by protecting and restoring exceptional places. A private nonprofit conservation organization founded in 1932, WPC has helped establish 11 state parks, conserved more than 290,000 acres of natural lands, protected or restored more than 3,000 miles of rivers and streams, and assessed thousands of wildlife species and their habitats. The Conservancy owns and operates Frank Lloyd Wright’s Fallingwater, which is on the UNESCO World Heritage List and symbolizes people living in harmony with nature. In addition, WPC enriches our region’s cities and towns through 130 community gardens and other green spaces and thousands of trees that are planted with the help of more than 7,000 volunteers. The work of the Conservancy is accomplished through the support of more than 10,000 members. For more information, visit WaterLandLife.org or Fallingwater.org.
Media Contact:
Jennifer Sumoske
Communications Specialist
412-586-2328 (o), 412-335-7227 (c)
jsumoske@paconserve.org