In February, the Juniata River was named PA’s River of the Year and placed on the PA Rivers Conservation Registry. In honor of these accomplishments, the Juniata River will host the Feature River Sojourn in June, Rivers Month. You might find yourself wondering what the theme, “Juniata Journey: From Yesterday to Tomorrow,” has to do with an eight-day, 95-mile canoe trip down the river. The answer, simply, is everything.

In the 1700s, Native Americans inhabited the Juniata River region. The name Juniata refers to a “projecting rock” that the local tribe paid reverence to. A monument to the standing stone still exists today in Huntingdon Borough. If you imagine a group of people living in the Juniata River region prior to the time of cars, trains, or canal boats, in a mostly wooded area, one of the faster ways to travel would have been via canoe on the Juniata.

This mode of transportation was unchallenged until the early to mid-1800s with the construction of the PA Main Line Canal and the PA Railroad. To get goods from Pittsburgh to Harrisburg required something larger and more powerful than canoes; the railroad easily moved coal and other minerals up the course of steep, mountain ridges to market. The canal and rail systems also opened up the area dramatically for settlement.

Canal boats and trains were not to last as the dominant transportation in the region, however. With the automobile, public transportation again shifted. No longer did everyone rely on the river as their primary mode of transportation. Some roads, like the present-day Route 22, however, still wound their way along the Juniata. Transportation was and is still connected to the river, but in a more passive way.

Today, the Juniata River region has plenty of cars, and trains make daily runs. If you know where to look and what you are looking for, you can still see remnants of the canal system that was once so vital to the inhabitants of this area. Most importantly, on any given day, you can walk or drive along the Juniata and see canoes. Throughout the Juniata’s many changes, canoeing has remained a consistent part of life.

The realization of where this area has been and where it is going is the key to the Sojourn and why the Juniata Clean Water Partnership is holding the Juniata Journey. This June, as we embark on the Sojourn, we celebrate the rich natural, cultural, and historical heritage of the region.

The JCWP hopes that you will consider joining us as we canoe together and unlock our past and our future along the River, our shared resource and common connection.

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114 SR 103 S

Mount Union, PA 17066

(814) 542-2511

4th Street &US Route 22

Huntingdon, PA

(814) 643-3934

US 22 & Route 26

Huntingdon, PA

(814) 643-1133

RR 4 Box 301-A

Huntingdon, PA

(814) 643-3035

US 26

Entriken, PA

(814) 658-3469 or 239-2225

100 Chipmunk Crossing

Entriken, PA

(814) 658-3500

2 South Main Street

McVeytown, PA 17051

(717) 899-7371

Rte 322-Burnham Interchange

Burnham, PA 17009

(717) 248-4961

1015 S Main Street

Lewistown, PA 17044

(717) 248-3315

900 S Main Street

Lewistown, PA 17044

(717) 248-4242

Rte 22/522 W of Lewistown

Lewistown, PA 17044

(717) 248-1921

1011 South Main St Extended

Lewistown, PA 17044

(717) 248-3921

Star Route 35 (Off Rte 322)

Mifflintown, PA 17059

(717) 436-5981

Extended RD #3 (Old Rte 22/322)

Mifflintown, PA 17059

(717) 436-2127

RR 3, Box 1757

Port Royal, PA 17082

(717) 535-4596

Rte 22/322

Thompsontown, PA 17094

(717) 535-4398

9 N Market St

Duncannon, PA

(717) 834-3020

Center Square

Newport, PA

(717) 567-6777

RD#4

Duncannon, PA

(717) 834-3320

41 W Main ST

New Bloomfield

(717) 582-2914

(814) 643-1110

(717) 248-6713

1-888-RAYSTOWN

With the help of Don Baker and Cadie Pruss of the Mifflin County Conservation District, Mifflin County has formed a local chapter of PA CleanWays. PA CleanWays is a statewide non-profit organization that began in Westmoreland County in 1990 to fight illegal dumping through community involvement and education. Since that time, chapters have formed in Bedford, Blair, Huntingdon, and ten other counties in Pennsylvania. The newly formed Mifflin County chapter will be PA’s easternmost chapter. Although most people don’t like dumpsites, forming a chapter was not easy.

A few years ago, Don Baker, with the blessing of Mid-State RC&D, drove all the township roads with township supervisors looking for illegal dumps and photographing them. He located 88 illegal dump sites in the county. The Mifflin County Mapping Department mapped each of the dumps Don located. From there, efforts to clean up the dumps stalled because of the high costs associated with hauling and disposal.

Illegal dumps are an expensive nuisance. Cleanup efforts rely on volunteers to donate time, equipment, and often money to compensate for other people’s careless ways. Often times the reason people dump illegally is to avoid the costs associated with proper disposal. Although they may not avoid the fee at the time, everyone pays in the end. We pay not only with the actual cost of clean up, but also with decreased health, lower property values, and a degradation of community pride.

Over half of the illegal dump sites are located either directly in, or within 50 feet, of a body of water. Surface and ground water is severely compromised by chemicals, minerals, and other contaminants. Contaminants percolate into the ground and eventually end up in our ground water, compromising health. Nationwide, millions of Americans buy bottled water because of poor quality drinking water.

Mifflin County’s new PA CleanWays chapter hopes to focus attention on this very serious issue through education and community cleanups. The first cleanup took place on Saturday, April 21, coinciding with many Earth Day activities. Donations from local businesses such as D&M Grove Sanitation, WalMart, Domino’s Pizza, Hartley’s Potato Chips, McDonald’s, and Sunderland Trucking have helped get the first cleanup off the ground. For more information please contact Cadie Pruss of the Mifflin County Conservation District at (717) 248-4695.

(Cadie is the Watershed Specialist, Mifflin Co. Conservation District)

Pennsylvania’s Farmland Preservation Program has moved to the forefront and is now preserving farmland at a faster rate than any other state. PA Secretary of Agriculture, Sam Hayes, recently stated that “If Pennsylvania agriculture and America are to remain strong, we must preserve our farmland. We must be able to feed, clothe, and shelter ourselves.” Secretary Hayes made those remarks at a ceremony marking the preservation of over 3,000 acres of farmland in Blair County.

What is Farmland Preservation and how does it work? First, counties appoint an Agricultural Land Preservation Board made up of local citizens and agencies to prepare a County Program for Operation. Once the County Program is approved by the State Agricultural Land Preservation Board, operating through the PA Department of Agriculture, counties are eligible to receive money for the purchase of conservation easements. Conservation easements are legal documents added to a deed stating that the piece of land may only be used for agriculture, now and forever. The landowners receive a payment for the easements equal to the difference between the appraised development value and the appraised farmland value of their land.

Within the Juniata watershed, Bedford, Blair, Fulton, Juniata, Mifflin and Perry Counties all have Ag Preservation Boards. Huntingdon County is currently researching the options in developing a local board. To date, these counties have purchased conservation easements for 7,200 acres on 44 farms. A total of $4,422,000 of state and local funds have been used for these purchases.

Thus far, 1,567 easements have been purchased statewide, equal to 191,000 acres of farmland. The total spent on these easements was $377,156,427 for an average price per acre of $1,975. Pennsylvania currently leads the nation in preserving farmland for our next generations.

Landowners who are interested in the Farmland Preservation Program should contact their county commissioners office to determine their county’s contact person. “The program may not be for everyone … but it will and can make a difference in saving valuable farmland for our future generations,” states Donna Fisher, Coordinator for the Blair County Program.

(Donna is the Blair County Conservation District Manager)

Yellow Creek Coalition

By Len Lichvar, Stream Improvement Chairman, Mountain Laurel Chapter of Trout Unlimited

The Yellow Creek watershed, located in Bedford County, is situated within the slender western extension of the limestone geologic region of Pennsylvania. Yellow Creek originates as a true spring creek from aquifers deep underground. The waterway takes on several different characteristics as tributaries from a variety of origins contribute their flows before the stream enters the Raystown Branch of the Juniata River.

Despite being recognized as one of the most productive trout fisheries in the state, the Yellow Creek watershed has suffered for decades from natural streambank erosion and agricultural runoff that has permitted sediment and soil loss as well as over-saturation of nutrients that have impaired water quality.

Recognizing that these solvable water quality problems exist, the Mountain Laurel, Blair County, and Fort Bedford Chapters of Trout Unlimited have united under one banner and formed the Yellow Creek Coalition (YCC). Trout Unlimited (TU) chapters are volunteer organizations that work to enhance and preserve the cold water resource. Over 500 chapters exist across the country.

All three YCC chapters have their own ongoing stream improvement projects within the watershed. However, the chapters decided several years ago that more could be accomplished by coordinating and assisting in each other’s projects.

The YCC meets quarterly and produces a newsletter twice a year. Perhaps more important, the YCC has cultivated partnerships with local farmers, residents, the Bedford County Conservation District, PA DEP, and other stakeholders and organizations in the watershed. These partnerships and volunteer labor from chapter members have put miles of streambank enhancements, cattle crossings, and similar projects on the ground.

In addition, the YCC has been a partner with the Southern Alleghenies RC&D and Conservancy, Canaan Valley Institute and the conservation districts of the Southern Alleghenies region in pursuing innovative solutions to correct nutrient over-saturation of soil and groundwater. The YCC was a cosponsor of the Agriculture Today and Tomorrow Conference held in March 2000. This conference identified potential solutions such as manure-derived products and composting as viable alternatives to traditional nutrient management options. The YCC is a vital part of the steering committee that is continuing the progress and research that is evolving from the initial conference.

The YCC, through the involvement of the individual chapters, has made a documented positive impact on the water quality in the Yellow Creek watershed. The combination of on the ground projects and the pursuit of economically driven innovative solutions have made the YCC a positive force in the protection and enhancement of one of the most unique and important watersheds in the Juniata River Basin.

To learn more about the YCC, access the Mountain Laurel Chapter of TU’s website at www.mltu.org. To learn more about innovative agricultural practices, access the American Farmland Trust web site at http://www.farmland.org. To learn more about the Agriculture Today and Tomorrow Conference and Committee, access the Southern Alleghenies Conservancy’s web site at http://www.shol.com/ehank/sac/.