President and Director: Bill Anderson
President and chair of the Little Juniata River Association since 2005; fly fishing instructor/guide; Innovative fly tyer; National Finalist for the Field & Stream “Hero of Conservation” award 2014; and Outdoor News – Person of the Year for 2015 (see links to videos on about the LJRA page). Winner of many environmental/conservation awards for his work preserving and improving the Little Juniata River. Bill has written articles on fly fishing and the Little Juniata River for regional magazines. And he is the author of “Trout Boomer and the Little “j” – The story of a fly fisher and his love for the Little Juniata River”. His innovative fly pattern, the CET (Crippled Emerger Transformer) was developed over several decades of observing and fishing the hatches on the little Juniata River. 50 Best Places Fly Fishing the Northeast”. Most recently, Bill contributed “My Most Go To Fly” for the Pa Fly Fishing Museum Newsletter. Bill lives with his wife Carol in Sinking Valley, 10 minutes from the Little J.
326 Hobbit Hollow Road, Altoona, Pa. 16601, bjuniata[at]verizon.net, Phone: (814) 569-8843
Director: Dennis Johnson
Director: William King Sr.
I’m Bill King. Platinum member & director of the LJRA. I’m recently retired from the Altoona Water Authority after 44 years, so I have knowledge of the Little J’s headwater streams and reservoirs. I’ve been fly fishing & fly tying since the mid 70s. I was fishing the Little J. When The PA Fish Commission was stocking “ fingerling” brown trout back in the 70s, I took a break from fishing and became a hard core-birder for several years. Now I’m back fishing & camping. I’m a frequent camper at Greene Hills RV Park, so I fish there & the lower Gorge areas.
Altoona Pa.
Director: Ron Kuntz
I grew up in Portage (Cambria County) and after years of making the 50-minutedrive to fish little j, I moved to Alexandria in 2001. Not long after, I met Bill Anderson at the Spruce Creek Tavern which led to me becoming a LJRA director and helping restart the organization. In addition to the little j, I enjoy the freestone streams of North Central PA, including the Driftwood Branch, First Fork, Kettle Creek and some of its smaller “Brookie” streams.
Alexandria PA
Director: Eric Oliver
I lived most of my life in southern Clearfield County and relocated to the northern Blair County area several years ago. I have a BS in Earth Science from Clarion University and a post baccalaureate certificate in GIS from PSU. I have also nearly completed a MS degree in GIS at Northwest Missouri State University. I have worked in many areas during my career from construction to engineering, from inspection to project management. I worked for the Pa DEP for 17 years as mine conservation inspector and program specialist. Since 2023, I have worked for Green Forests Work (GFW). GFW (www.greenforestswork.org) is a non-profit that is affiliated with the University of Kentucky, Martin-Gatton College of Ag, Food, and Environment. We perform ecological reforestation and restoration of drastically disturbed lands throughout Appalachia and even internationally in Australia. I am also certified as a Pennsylvani Master Naturalist. I live near Tyrone, PA. I perform caretaker duties for the Plummer’s Hollow Private Nature Preserve (www.plummershollow.com) which is owned by nature author Marcia Bonta and her family. Plummer’s Run is a tributary to the Little Juniata just downstream from Tyrone. I enjoy fly fishing, biking, birding, hiking, and hunting among many other outdoor activities.
Director: Lee Pryor
I was one of the original members of the LJRA that was formed after a chemical spill in 1998 wiped out most of the aquatic life in a large section of the river. I was born and raised and still reside in Birmingham, a village along the Little J. As a boy and young man growing up it was heavily polluted. Fortunately, the pollution was eliminated and the river has become a valuable natural resource which the LJRA, as part of its mission, has been protecting. I have been fishing the j for many years. I also enjoy tying flies, gardening, and fishing the local lakes for whatever tightens my line.
Birmingham, Pa
Director and project specialist: Carl Reed
I have served as director of the LJRA since 2012. I am the unofficial project specialist of the group. I am also a director of the John Kennedy Chapter Trout Unlimited 1995-present), a former director of the Yellow Creek Coalition (2011-2019) and a former director of the Mt Laurel Chapter Trout Unlimited (1975-1979). I am a PFBC and BSA angling instructor. I served in various capacities in Cub- and boy scouts for over 34 years. You wouldn’t know if from the picture, but I often smile!
Director and web master: Joe Reese
I have been a life member of the organization for over 20 years and a director since 2014. I grew up in rural Northern New Jersey (yes, it exists!) and have fly-fished and tied for over 45 years. In addition to being a fisherman, I was a fur trapper as a youth during the winter months, which greatly improved my wading skills! I am an amateur herpetologist and studied painted turtle and water snake reproduction as an undergraduate student. My favorite part of the J is the middle river, especially the islands area. As you can see in this photo, I also enjoy chasing SMB on the “big J” in the summertime when the “THE J” is too warm and low to fish.
State College PA, ljraweb[at] gmail.com
Director and Vice President: Angie Spagnoli
I was elected as the first female director in May 2022. I was born and raised in Altoona where I became fond of the Little Juniata River at a young age. I first got involved with LJRA as a college sophomore while earning a B.S. in Environmental Science at Penn State. I went on to obtain a Master of Science in Ecology at the Indiana University of Pennsylvania, studying the effects of invasive plants on the transference of energy through trophic levels within the Little Juniata River’s floodplain. Currently, I am an aquatics specialist with the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources. It is my focus to develop and implement programs to restore habitat for fish, amphibians, turtles, and waterfowl. I am dedicated to protecting the Little J by assisting with restoration projects, presenting and promoting the LJRA, conducting stream monitoring, and writing grant proposals on behalf of the Association. I’ve watched the health of the river greatly increase in my lifetime, and I want to contribute to maintaining this beautiful resource.
Director: Logan Stenger
My name is Logan Stenger and I have been a life member of the LJRA since 2019 and a director since April 2023. I am employed as a Senior Project Manager for the Chesapeake Conservancy, a non-profit organization dedicated to the conservation and improvement of the Chesapeake Bay watershed. Specifically, I am a part of the Pennsylvania restoration team where I develop and implement grants and projects to support water quality and habitat restoration work across central PA, including Centre, Clinton, Huntingdon, Lycoming, Snyder, and Union counties.
I earned my B.S. in Environmental Science at Juniata College and my M.S. in Entomology from Penn State. I am a certified benthic macroinvertebrate taxonomist and specialize in assessing aquatic invertebrate communities for water quality monitoring purposes. In addition to my work with the Conservancy, I own and operate Friend of the Fly, a small consulting business that provides macroinvertebrate sample processing, identification, and data analysis services to support water quality monitoring efforts. As a central PA native, I enjoy the outdoors and I am particularly passionate about hunting, trapping, and fly fishing. I look forward to contributing to the LJRA’s mission to monitor, preserve, and improve the Little Juniata River and its tributaries.
Tyrone, PA
email: lstenger [at] chesapeakeconservancy.org
Director and Treasurer: Bill Strockbine
I grew up in Pennsylvania’s Cumberland County fishing the Yellow Breeches, Letort Spring Run and other notable limestoners flowing through that region. I developed a passion for fly fishing sparked by a close childhood friend and neighbor. I recall that we would ride our bicycles to Cedar Run Creek where we caught, beautiful, wild brown trout on sulfur dry flies. I was hooked. Outside of our homewater area, we would venture to Poe Paddy State Park to fish Penns Creek, often during the Green Drake hatch, which was always spectacular. After graduating from Shippensburg University in 1982, I took a media production job in state government where I worked on a wide variety of video and photo projects. Many of them involved environmental issues which was both gratifying and fascinating. During those working years, I joined Cumberland Valley Trout Unlimited and participated in many of their activities and events. I was later elected to the board of directors and served two consecutive terms, during which time we received TU National’s prestigious Gold Trout Chapter award (2011). I began fishing the Little Juniata River in 1992 after marrying Tyrone native Terrie Jo Foust. When I learned about the LJRA I joined the organization, becoming an active Lifetime member in 2021 after retiring and moving to Huntington County where I currently reside in Warriors Mark Township.
Past directors:
Director Emeritis : Bill Bressler
I’ve been a Life Member of the LJRA since 2010 and served as Director from 2013-2022. I’m also a Life Member of Trout Unlimited. I was raised in State College, lived in Alexandria for three years, and have lived in Huntingdon since 1978. The Little Juniata is my favorite river, and I’ve been fishing it since 1973, at first just the lower river, but more recently the full length. I also enjoy fly tying and fishing other central and northern PA streams and the Madison River in Montana.
Director: Gary A. Miller
I was born and raised in Southeastern Pennsylvania but moved to California in 1980 where I earned a B.S. degree in Biological Science from Chico State University. I then began working in the environmental consulting field participating in fisheries studies (primarily salmon and trout species) throughout California and other western states before moving back to the East coast. I continued to work in the consulting field gaining experience in a variety of different fields such as wetland delineations, water sampling and highway construction best management practices before retiring in early 2022. Moving to this area in 1999, I have been involved with the LJRA since its founding, joining in response to monitoring the river’s recovery following a major spill event.
Director: Scott Kavanagh
Was an officer from 2018-2026, serving as treasurer. He grew up in Iowa and began fishing with my grandparents at a young age. He relocated to the Altoona area in the early 90’s and saw the beauty of the Little J! He is also a long-time member of Trout Unlimited andserved as the president of the John Kennedy Chapter.