Eric Oliver received the 2024 Friend of the River Award at the LJRA banquet held on June 8th. Eric has been involved in and led many water monitoring projects in the watershed, including at Bells Gap Run and at the Rutter’s construction site. His monitoring efforts at the Rutter’s site are particularly noteworthy and have led to fines and corrections during its construction. He was instrumental in writing grants to fund the monitoring effort. Congratulations, Eric, and we are lucky to have such a dedicated friend of the river.
Category: News
Rest In Peace John Bennis
We are sad to announce that former Director of the LJRA John Bennis, formally of Hollidaysburg, has passed away after a courageous battle against cancer at the age of 69. John was a dedicated member of the board and a strong supporter of the LJRA. He was an early Director who gave willingly of his time and energy to improve the river. We will miss him.
You can read his obituary here https://www.richardsonfs.com/obituary/John-Bennis
Stream work on the upper river contributes sediment into the system
Yesterday during a river tour with a new LJRA member, Bill witnessed 2 large excavators at the Old 6th Avenue Road bridge in Pinecroft, crossing over Sandy Run, a Class A wild Trout stream and High Quality Cold Water listed stream. They had built a road through Sandy Run using soil from the streambank. They have 2 small culvert pipes that are barely keeping up with the flow and creating a muddy pool behind the improvised road. We spoke with the engineer in charge and learned that they will be digging up a large section of sewer main from the stream bed, today. Then installing a replacement section which will take 3 or 4 days. The makeshift culvert will surely wash out with a heavy rain, delivering sediment into the upper river. This main is not leaking it is, in their words, sagging and requires frequent cleaning. We are challenging their permit terms and will seek to minimize the impact on this major cold water resource for the upper river.
If you see something unusual in the river or its tributaries, please contact Bill or if its a serious immediate threat to the river contact local authorities
Director Angie Spagnoli recognized for her conservation efforts
LJRA outreach
John Little (1946-2024)
We are saddened by the passing of former director and member John Little. John was a great supporter of LJRA and served as LJRA Director from 2005 until his illness interfered in 2015. He was very instrumental in our annual spring clean-up and served as a volunteer in many of the LJRA water quality improvement projects. John and wife Marie made their Rivers Edge property available for our fall banquets and promoted the LJRA to their many fishing guests. John ad Marie attended our summer banquet last June at the Rivers Edge now owned by Randy and John Green. He was our friend and our fellow river lover. We will miss John.
his obituary can be viewed here
December meeting minutes
Minutes can be downloaded here
Veeder-Root volunteers conduct a fall clean up
A crew from Veeder-Root Co. (Duncansville) collected over 500lbs of trash from the middle J on August 28th. Veeder-Root has been conducting clean-ups on the J in the fall for several years. The LJRA supplies gloves and bags and pays for disposal. Joel Bobetich, Ron Chappell, Brad Rettburg, Brent Hopkins, Mark Watters, and James Lemin (absent from this photo) participated. Great job guys!
If your group or office wishes to conduct a clean-up, contact Bill.
Lee Pryor Awarded the LJRA 2023 Friend of the River Award
The LJRA held their annual banquet at the Rivers Edge Lodge along the banks of the Little J on June 3rd. Director Lee Pryor, a founding member and director of the LJRA, won the 2023 Friend of the River Award for his longtime service to the organization. You can read more about Lee on the Meet the Directors page.
Please welcome a new Corporate Sponsor
Mr. Ants Rods is our new corporate sponsor. Visit his Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/mrantsrods