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Tire Recycling — Saturday May 26
In cooperation with the F.H. Buhl Farm Park the Shenango River Watchers will hold a tire recycling collection on Saturday May 26, 2012 in the in Parking Lot #4 of the park (across from the Casino). Signs will direct you from entrance to the park from Hazen Road at Seventh Street in Sharpsville. The collection will run from 9:00 AM until the truck fills up or 1:00 PM whichever comes first. The collection is open to residents of the Shenango River Watershed. Also during the day we will be collecting any scrap metal. Tires must be off rims.
Drop off is limited to 10 tires per vehicle.We’ve helped rid the watershed of many waste tires over the years and 2012 is no exception.
If all goes well we’ll gather between 1200 and 1400 tires. Bring your tires and help us reach our goal!
Scholarship Winner
The Shenango River Watchers are pleased to announce the 2012 winner of their annual $1000 Environmental Scholarship to Cassie Graham,a senior at Sharpsville High School. She is planning to major in Conservation Biology at Thiel College. Cassie is the daughter of Randy and Valerie Graham of Sharpsville.
The 2013 SRW scholarship will be open for applications in the month of January. Please check here and with your school guidance counselors for upcoming information in January 2013.
Rally on the River
Bring your paddle on Sunday, June 3 and honor our river! Join a fun float on the upper Shenango River from PA’s Pymatuning St. Park to Greenville.
Drop your boat below the dam in Pymatuning State Park near Jamestown PA, drive to Riverside Park in Greenville PA and take our free shuttle back to the dam. Shuttle begins at 8:15 and ends about 10:00. Float the river and then join us for a free lunch and live music in Riverside park.
Sponsored by the Shenango Conservancy, Shenango River Watchers, Penn-Ohio Watershed Association, and Mercer County Conservation District.
More details in the flyer.
SRW Congratulates Jeffrey Giardina
The Shenango River Watchers congratulates Water Conservation Officer (WCO) Jeffrey Giardina, recipient of the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission (PFBC) Officer of the Year Award for 2011. Officer Giardina was honored during the awards presentation at the April 2012 PA Fish and Boat Commission meeting. He serves the PFBC in a large part of the Shenango River Watershed. As a WCO, he provides a critical role in the protection of the watershed resources we enjoy along with waterway safety enforcement. We are fortunate to have Officer Giardina watching over our watershed and extend our sincere congratulations on this well-deserved honor and our thanks for his dedicated service.
Read more in the PFBC press release
Aluminum Dropoff Site
We asking for your donation of any clean aluminum in the parking lot of The Engraving Place 1945 East State Street Hermitage, Pa (next to the Dairy Queen). All proceeds stay local to help clean, preserve and protect your watershed. Special thanks to The Engraving Place Owner, Laura Fleming, Tri-County Industries Inc. and Sherwin Williams Paint.
Home Compost Class
Shenango River Watchers and Buhl Park are joining forces with the Mercer County Conservation District to host a Home Compost Class. Learn how to turn much of your household and yard waste into black gold for your vegetable and flower gardens! Master Gardener, Jim Mondok of the Mercer County Conservation District will teach the basics of home composting and provide hands on instruction for building a compost bin with basic, inexpensive materials. Four lucky participants will get to build their own bin during the class and take it home with them. The class will be held at the Activities Building in Buhl Park on Thursday, April 5th from 6:30-8:00pm. Pre-registration is required by calling the Shenango River Watchers office at 724-342-5453 before Tuesday, April 3rd. Cost: Donations accepted. Register now, the class is limited to 30 participants!
Current Events
2012 Dates to Save
- April 21: Earth Day Cleanup
- May 12: Funnel Cakes at Agway in Hermitage
- May 26: Tire Recycling Collection
- June 3: Rally on the River Float
- June 16: Ohio River Sweep
- June 29: Family Picnic Fundraiser
- July 14: Garden Party Fundraiser at DJ's Greenhouse
- July 21: Canoe Cleanup
- September 3: Funnel Cakes at Buhl Day
- September 16: Funnel Cakes at Munnel Run Farm
- September 30: Paddle Fest 2012
- October 6: Funnel Cakes at Agway in Hermitage
- October 11: Wine and Cheese Fundraiser at Buhl Mansion at the Carriage House
- December 5: Repeal Day Fundraiser
Hazardous Construction on the River
The Norfolk and Southern Railroad is replacing their old and rusty truss bridge over the river, about 1.5 miles below Greenville's southern end, and some distance above Kidd's Mill.They have constructed two temporary bridges at the site, both just a few feet above water level. Absolutely not passable. Shortly, these temporary bridges will be replaced by a different temporary bridge structure consisting of five, 50" culvert pipes, covered with gravel, creating a roadway for heavy equipment. Obviously, this will not be passable either.
Should you choose to portage around during the week, you'd be going through a work area of monster equipment (huge cranes) moving huge bridge sections and so forth. Workers may not allow you to proceed in any fashion while they are at work on the bridge.
Take extreme care anywhere near this site.
The job is expected to be completed by February, so it should have no impact on the 2012 paddling season.
Completion of First Phase, Shenango River Water Trail
You’ve been following our 4-year effort to open the channel of the upper Shenango River (from the dam at Pymatuning State Park) to Greenville’s Riverside Park. We fought our way through the bureaucratic hurdles, environmental restrictions, garnered support from the community and political entities, and of course raised $71,000 to do the work.
We had planned to begin the tree work this May, but were frustrated by the unusually high water experienced well into June. We reset a start date of August 1. On that day, two teams of Amish loggers and their wonderful draft horses went to work. They were directed daily by Jim Donnachie, a professional with Meadville Land Services, Inc. A Shenango River Watcher member gave directions or recommendations throughout the month where needed. read more ...
Kayak and Quilt Raffle Winners
Shenango River Watchers has announced the winners for the Kayak and Quilt Raffles. A gracious jogger was pulled from his run at Buhl Park where the winners were drawn on Monday, October 31, 2011.
Ernie Fobes was the lucky winner of this year's Kayak. Ernie is from West Middlesex and bought his ticket at our chili and cornbread fundraiser at Munnell Run Farm in October. When asked if he had kayaked before, he said no. He expressed that he has always wanted to kayak down the Shenango River but never had the opportunity. He's going to try it out in a swimming pool first! When Leisa, his wife, was asked if she would like to try out the kayak she replied "I prefer something larger, like a cruise ship!"
Anita Jones from New Castle was excited to learn that she was the winner of the beautiful hand-quilted bird quilt.
Shenango River Watchers is a non-profit organization with a mission to "Clean-up, Preserve and Protect" the Shenango River Watershed.
Trout Island Trail Cleanup with Cub Scout Pack #45 of Sharpsville October 23, 2011
The Pack #45 Cub Scouts brought a large contingent of scouts and parents to enjoy a great fall day on the Mercer County Trails Association (MCTA) Trout Island Bicycle Trail. Beginning from the start of the trail in Sharpsville and working out past the Shenango Dam, the group rounded up a large quantity of litter and recyclables while canvasing the trail and its surroundings to make the area look great.
Thanks to Pack #45 for helping clean this great trail area along the river.
Rick Barborak and Don Clowes
Cleanup and Recycling Committee
Our Mission
Shenango River Watchers is a non-profit watershed group formed to restore and protect the environmental, scenic, and recreational attributes of the Shenango River Watershed.
Working together, our members and other volunteers have cleared hundreds of tons of garbage and thousands of tires from illegal dump sites along the river, constructed canoe launches, and monitored the water quality of the Shenango River.
Help us to make the river a better place for everyone who lives in or visits the Shenango Valley.
Water Trail Project
We’ve been working now for 4 years on our most ambitious project, clearing the blockages that make the upper Shenango River virtually impassable to paddle craft. To that end, we raised over $70,000 from a variety of sources, public and private.
We negotiated the rocks and shoals of the various bureaucracies, state and national, which can influence our project. We recruited assistance from our local government, and rallied support from service clubs like the Lions, Rotary, Mercer County Woman’s Association, foundations, Scouts and the like. Our local papers gave us wonderful coverage. Most importantly, the general public responded with support and encouragement.
Finally, we have actually begun the work!
The pictures above show the condition of the river just below the Pymatuning Lake dam before work began. Clearly, the river was not passable in a canoe here!
Under the guidance of Meadville Land Services, Inc. , a team of Amish loggers and their amazing Belgian draft horses, with some help from a small tracked "skidder," log after log, jam after jam, is removed from the river’s channel.
Care is taken to not abuse the riverbank. We work around the "riffles," wherein reside Endangered Species of mussels. We deferred our start date to allow fledgling Bald Eagles nesting in the area to mature without disturbance. Much large woody debris is left in the river to maintain and augment habitat for fish, otter, beaver, and avian residents.
By being sensitive to these issues, the river maintains its natural character and health, both in appearance and in fact.
The pictures below show the work in progress and the results of clearing part of the river just below Pymatuning Sate Park.
The first phase of this work, from Pymatuning State Park south to Greenville’s Riverside Park, should be complete by late summer, this year. After MLS evaluates the second phase, from Riverside Park to the "Big Bend" take-out just above Lake Shenango near Clark and Transfer, PA, we will generate a target number for another round of fund raising to complete the project. From Pymatuning State Park to Big Bend, there will be a safe and inviting "family floatable" reach of some 26 miles. Your help is needed to make the complete project a reality.
More information about the water trail is available on our projects page.