Boon River: The Lehigh bestowed state honor

For decades, the Susquehanna River has inspired debate, instilled fear and commanded respect from those who live along side it. All the while, another area river stood quietly in the background, content to wind its way through pristine forests and quaint, small towns.

On Thursday, the Lehigh River – that other river – received some recognition that those who are familiar with it say is long overdue. The state Department of Conservation and Natural Resources named the Lehigh as Pennsylvania’s River of the Year for 2007. The designation recognizes the river’s history, the numerous recreational opportunities it offers and the significant strides made by local organizations to improve the water quality.

“This recognition is very well-deserved, especially when you consider the Lehigh was a dead river in the 1930s,” said Dean Druckenmiller, president of the Lehigh Coldwater Fishery Alliance.

The Lehigh River stretches for 104 miles from Gouldsboro, Wayne County, to its junction with the Delaware River in Northampton County. It is the second largest tributary to the Delaware and its watershed drains 10 counties, including parts of Luzerne.

DCNR Secretary Mike DiBerardinis said the water quality in the Lehigh is the best it has been in 150 years and, as a result, the river has pumped new life into the communities that surround it.

“Once a historic transportation corridor for coal bound from Carbon and Luzerne counties to Philadelphia, New York and beyond, the Lehigh River helped fuel America’s Industrial Revolution,” DiBerardinis said. “Now, mountain bikers, hikers and hunters are seen where mules and canal barges hauled coal and other cargo. Where dams once contained the mighty river, anglers in great number now seek trout, American shad and other species found in a healthy waterway.”

Druckenmiller said the river’s early role in the coal mining industry led to its demise more than 70 years ago. Coal silt and acid mine drainage destroyed the river and all forms of aquatic life found in its water, he said.

The implementation of the Clean Water Act in the 1970s and the demise of the coal industry gave the river a chance to improve.

“There’s still a lot happening on the river from a conservation standpoint,” he said. “The water quality is still improving and a number of organizations working to stock trout, muskie and shad in the upper portions.”

The Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission has stocked adult and fingerling trout in the Lehigh River for years. Anglers routinely flock to the Francis E. Walter Dam, which impounds the river in Kidder Township, and the river as it flows through the Pocono Mountains, White Haven and Jim Thorpe to fish for trout.

The river is also home to several businesses, including fishing guide services and several whitewater rafting companies.

Sally Curl, a supervisor with the Pub’s Northeast Regional Office, said the designation is a testament to the Lehigh’s recreation and economic value.

“It’s a heavily used waterway by hikers, birdwatchers, anglers and mountain bikers,” she said. “It’s a wild river with clean water in a beautiful setting.”

Druckenmiller hopes the designation will lead more users to the river. The more activity along the river the greater the awareness will be to improve and protect the resource, he said.

“Everybody used to pass over the Lehigh River as they drove to the upper Delaware River to fish,” Druckenmiller said. “But now you see more activity and more people stopping right here. The river is getting there.”

As part of the designation, the Lehigh will be the focus of a Rivers Month poster and a River Sojourn in June sponsored by the Wildlands Conservancy.

Gone fishin’

The Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission stocks 18,000 brown trout fingerlings in the Lehigh River annually to increase angling opportunities. For years, the agency has released fingerlings in the stretch of river from the Francis E. Walter Dam down to Sandy Run Creek below Lehigh Tannery. PFBC Supervisor Sally Corl said this year the agency will extend the stretch where fingerlings are stocked down into the town of Jim Thorpe Lehighton.

The PFBC is also in the process of drafting a new fisheries management plan for the Lehigh. The plan proposes a number of habitat improvements such as low flow channel deflectors, species and river section-specific stocking targets, and studies of angler use and harvest. According to the draft plan, 70 percent of the trout caught by anglers fishing the stretch of river from the dam to Sandy Run Creek originated from hatcheries, while 15 percent were from unknown origins.

The PFBC is distributing logbooks to anglers to study river use and trout harvest. Anglers are asked to record information on their fishing activities in the logbook, which will be analyzed by the PFBC. The findings will be released to the participants.

Logbooks are being distributed to fishing guides, bait and tackle stores, Hickory Run State Park, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ F.E. Walter Office and area sportsmen’s clubs.