Twin pickup
CRTU volunteers, based in Uniontown, removed trash from two area trout streams, nearby roads
Anglers on two local trout streams had a better experience when the season opened on Saturday, April 5, whether they caught a fish or not. They could fish free of unsightly litter.
On March 29, one week before the trout opener, the Chestnut Ridge Chapter of Trout Unlimited (CRTU) conducted litter cleanups on Dunbar Creek in Fayette County and Pike Run in Washington County.
Except for a cancelled cleanup due to the Covid pandemic in 2020, it was the local chapter鈥檚 30th consecutive preseason trash pickup at Dunbar Creek. It was the second annual cleanup for the group on Pike Run.
鈥淲hat a great project on Pike Run. Thanks so much to CRTU for the great work it does in the region,鈥� said Chase McClain, marketing director for the Washington County Chamber of Commerce and Tourism Promotion Agency.
CRTU volunteers collected 19 bags of trash, a dozen tires, a mattress, and various appliance parts along Pike Run Drive and Pike Run, a tributary to the Monongahela that enters the river at California. The effort was a registered event in the statewide Keep PA Beautiful campaign. PennDot will dispose of the trash collected from the roadside and streambank, and Borough of California employees will recycle appliance parts.
Pike Run in that section is a special regulation Delayed Harvest Artificial Lures Only trout stream, heavily stocked with trout by the PA Fish and Boat Commission for anglers鈥� enjoyment.
At Dunbar Creek, another team of CRTU volunteers collected 22 bags of trash and one tire. CRTU participates in PennDot鈥檚 Adopt a Highway program along the Dunbar-Ohiopyle Road and cleans the Betty Knox access road to State Game Land 51 popular with Dunbar Creek trout anglers.
鈥淎 lot of our members have always picked up trash along Dunbar Creek while fishing,鈥� said Eugene Gordon who chairs the Dunbar cleanup effort for CRTU. 鈥淏ut we started it as a formal annual project in 1996.鈥�
While Gordon says it鈥檚 regrettable that any litter is left behind along such a beautiful resource as Dunbar Creek, he believes the litter situation along the stream has gradually improved over the years.
鈥淭he first time we did it we took out three triaxles of trash and over 100 tires. I don鈥檛 think you could imagine much of anything that we haven鈥檛 found along the stream鈥揳ppliances, furniture, toilets, car parts and even an entire car once by the pipeline. There are no surprises among those members who have participated.鈥�
But in recent years, the volume of trash has gradually diminished. What once took a day-and-a-half to clean up now can be accomplished by CRTU volunteers in two or three hours of work.
鈥淲e like to hope that people are beginning to wake up to what we have here and are respecting it a little more,鈥� Gordon reflected.
Several organizations have partnered with CRTU on the cleanup over the years including the Pennsylvania Game Commission, Dunbar Sportsmen鈥檚 Club, PA Cleanways, PennDot, and Dunbar Township.
Gordon observed that the chapter has worked to improve the environment and the trout-fishing experience on Dunbar Creek in diverse ways.
鈥淥ur chapter is proud that we have worked to improve both the water quality of Dunbar Creek through our Glade Run project, which neutralizes acid mine drainage in the headwaters, and the scenic character of the stream corridor by cleaning up litter,鈥� Gordon said. 鈥淲e believe this makes for a better experience for those who come here to fish and enjoy the outdoors in Fayette County.鈥�
The trout season began on April 5 and will continue through Sept. 1. On most stocked trout streams anglers may keep 5 trout per day, minimum size 7 inches. But regulations vary by stream, including portions of Dunbar Creek and Pike Run. The 鈥淏etty Knox鈥� section of Dunbar Creek is regulated for fly-fishing only, and all trout caught must be released.
Anglers should check regulations on the Fish and Boat Commission website (www.pa.gov/agenciesfishandboat) to confirm the rules where and when they choose to fish.