Our mission is to: “Monitor, Preserve and Improve the Little Juniata River and its tributaries as cold water resources”.
We are sad to announce that former Director of the LJRA John Bennis, formally of Hollidaysburg, has passed away after a courageous battle against cancer at the age of 69. John was a dedicated member of the board and a strong supporter of the LJRA. He was an early Director who gave willingly of his time and energy to improve the river. We will miss him.
You can read his obituary here https://www.richardsonfs.com/obituary/John-Bennis
Yesterday during a river tour with a new LJRA member, Bill witnessed 2 large excavators at the Old 6th Avenue Road bridge in Pinecroft, crossing over Sandy Run, a Class A wild Trout stream and High Quality Cold Water listed stream. They had built a road through Sandy Run using soil from the streambank. They have 2 small culvert pipes that are barely keeping up with the flow and creating a muddy pool behind the improvised road. We spoke with the engineer in charge and learned that they will be digging up a large section of sewer main from the stream bed, today. Then installing a replacement section which will take 3 or 4 days. The makeshift culvert will surely wash out with a heavy rain, delivering sediment into the upper river. This main is not leaking it is, in their words, sagging and requires frequent cleaning. We are challenging their permit terms and will seek to minimize the impact on this major cold water resource for the upper river.
If you see something unusual in the river or its tributaries, please contact Bill or if its a serious immediate threat to the river contact local authorities
The minutes of the May meeting can be downloaded here.
Director Angie Spagnoli was recently awarded the 2024 Junta Valley Audubon Society Conservation Award for her work with wetlands conservation, education and advocacy. We are very lucky to have her on the board. Congratulations Angie!
Over 100 volunteers filled two 40 ft. dumpsters with litter and some tires were collected from 30 miles of waterway. This is the 19th year of the clean up. High water and a power outage did not deter dedicated volunteers. Once again, Spruce Creek United Methodist Church provided a delicious lunch for the volunteers. Tastykake donated treats. Read about the event in The PA environment daily here.
A photo gallery is provided courtesy of Beth Intoccia, Chairperson Litter Lifters of West Vincent.
President Bill Anderson delivered a presentation on the activities of the LJRA at a dinner for Environmental leaders hosted by the Moshannon Group Sierra Club attended by 30 local conservation groups.
The LJRA met Thursday March 14th. The minutes of the meeting can be downloaded here.
February 8th Bryan Chikotas, Fisheries Manager for the southcentral district and new Water Conservation Officer Brock Bensen attended and gave reports.
Minutes can be downloaded here
We are saddened by the passing of former director and member John Little. John was a great supporter of LJRA and served as LJRA Director from 2005 until his illness interfered in 2015. He was very instrumental in our annual spring clean-up and served as a volunteer in many of the LJRA water quality improvement projects. John and wife Marie made their Rivers Edge property available for our fall banquets and promoted the LJRA to their many fishing guests. John ad Marie attended our summer banquet last June at the Rivers Edge now owned by Randy and John Green. He was our friend and our fellow river lover. We will miss John.
his obituary can be viewed here
Rutter’s was fined $73,200 for violations of their NPDES permits at the Sandy Run site! LJRA opposed this project from its inception on the grounds that all the drainage would be into the Sandy Run wetlands, the major cold water source and wild trout spawning stream for the upper Little Juniata River. We have taken water samples from every significant rain event since they broke ground last year and notified BCCD of possible violations of the E&S (Erosion & Sedimentation) plan at the site. Blair County Conservation District (BCCD) performed multiple inspections that determined violations resulting in this penalty. LJRA will continue to monitor as truck stop operations begin in 2024. Directors Angie Spagnoli and Gary Miller and Eric Oliver were essential in monitoring activities at the site for the last year. Great job all!