Saving Little Mahoning Creek – a high quality watershed feeding the Allegheny River

The Little Mahoning Creek watershed, situated in northern Indiana County, is arguably the most intact and biologically diverse tributary to the Allegheny River in southwestern Pennsylvania.  Home to a diverse assemblage of fish, freshwater mussels, aquatic insects, and the eastern hellbender salamander, the stream managed to escape the legacy of abandoned mine drainage pollution despite lying in the heart of the bituminous coal region.  A component of improving a major river system is protecting tributaries that positively influence its overall health.  Western Pennsylvania Conservancy’s Saving Little Mahoning Creek project is aimed at working with farmers, municipal officials, industry, and the community to limit nutrient and sediment pollution, while taking steps to protect the rural nature of the watershed.  Upon completion of a comprehensive biological, chemical, and visual assessment, restoration priorities were determined.  Projects that include a variety of best management practices are currently being implemented with the help of a diverse partnership.  This work also includes removal of 71-year-old Savan Dam and rebuilding a severely degraded tributary, Mudlick Run.  The ultimate success of this multi-generation effort rests upon the shoulders of a better informed watershed community, strong partnership, and the emerging Little Mahoning Creek Watershed Association.