Partnerships to boost health of Pennsylvania’s Allegheny National Forest streams

From the U.S. Forest Service

Warren, Pa. — The U.S. Forest Service announced that a joint effort continues to improve the health of streams in the Allegheny National Forest.

The service is using what it calls “large wood additions” to improve stream health by directionally felling carefully selected trees into the streams to improve aquatic habitat and slow flood flows. Five miles of large wood additions have been added to Bear Creek in Elk County over the past two months.

Project work is planned to take place this year on the Farnsworth Branch of Tionesta Creek, Little Hickory Run, Lamentation Run, and Irwin Run. These are joint projects with forest partners – the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy and Trout Unlimited – that are funded by investments through the Inflation Reduction Act.

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Present-day streams look very different today than what they looked like before the logging era in the late 1700s to the early 1900s, according to Christopher Leeser, public affairs officer for the Allegheny National Forest. Historic logging practices prevented large wood from accumulating in streams and rivers.

Rocks and debris were cleared from streams to make it easier to transport logs to market. The result over time was the degradation of stream health.

“Large wood additions will help return the streams to a more natural state by slowing stream flows, aerating the water and providing habitat for aquatic organisms like native brook trout,” Leeser said.

“Additional benefits include increased storage of water on the floodplain and increased groundwater recharge that makes the watershed more resilient during high-flow events and hotter summer temperatures.”