Projects & Efforts
Workdays
We are committed to protecting and preserving Valley Creek and West Valley Creek.
National Public Lands Day project 9/2007
Want to help? Please contact:
Pete Goodman: 610-827-7619
Rod Horton: 610-666-6167
Or CLICK HERE to fill out a volunteer form.
Current Project Updates
Projects, Progress and Happenings in the Valley Forge Trout Unlimited area: Winter 2012
The Chapter has completed and submitted it’s revised bylaws to conform the the National TU model bylaws.
Our annual fall fund raiser the “Clean Streams Raffle” was completed with tickets being drawn at our December members meeting. It was a great success which yielded $3,441 net to our treasury.
The publishing of our book, Trout Tales and Watershed Heroes, has been very successful. Stories and article from the first 30 years of Banknotes fill the pages. The books and available through the “Contact the Chapter” at our website, www.ValleyForgeTU.org , board members, local fishing shops and Amazon.com.
We have set the date for our largest annual fund raiser, the TROUT SHOW. It will be held on Thursday evening, March 29th again at the Valley Forge Middle School. Our featured speaker for the show will be Dave Hughes. It is a night of lots of raffles, lots of luck and great bargains and a whole lot of fun. We encourage everyone to attend.
The chapter has stayed on top of developments as Tredyffrin Township prepares the reconstruction of the Crabby Creek sanitary sewer line. The fast track has however been delayed due to the township not having its Act 537 Plan approval from DEP. This approval is in the works but will push back the project a couple of months. This will be an extensive project with the potential to do major damage to a sub watershed where we have spent $700,000 to improve its condition. We are still working with the township to try to affect how the work will be done.
In a somewhat related meeting a representative of the Chester County Conservation District and several chapter members met with the Valley Creek Trustee Council to see if there was interest in providing grant funding for recommended stream stabilization in Crabby Creek. The Council provided what they would need to presented in order for the council to decide on funding. A planning meeting is scheduled in January to create a further presentation to the Valley Creek Trustee Council.
The PA Turnpike Commission (PTC) submitted their NPDES application in November for the Widening Project (MP320 to MP326) that occurs in the Valley Creek watershed. We have done a preliminary review and have discussed the application with a number of involved parties and our environmental consultant. We believe that the current design does not meet the anti-degradation laws of the Pennsylvania Code for an Exceptional Value stream.
The chapter continues participation in Chester County Marcellus Shale Coalition. This group has many partners and is great source of information. One of its focuses is on the Williams pipeline crossing of the East Branch of the Brandywine River. This is an issue in which State Senator Andy Dinniman is very interested. We are working with him and others on this issue.
We are working on the Keeper of the Stream partnership with Valley Forge National Historical Park. This program will put volunteers throughout the entire Valley Creek watershed. The volunteers will sign up for certain stream sections or “beats” to monitor at least four times per year. This will give us the eyes on the ground and stream to watch out for problems. The program will include training and reporting protocols. The initial familiarization meeting will occur in January with training session/s to occur in February.
If you are interested in participating in any of our projects or initiatives please email me at Peteg@bee.net.
Pete Goodman
