Penn Soil gets grant for Pithole Creek watershed study

Penn Soil Resource Conservation and Development Council has been awarded a $5,000 Coldwater Heritage Partnership grant to create a coldwater conservation plan that will help conserve and protect the coldwater streams and resources of Pennsylvania.

Penn Soil will begin a planning project that will gather existing data about the Pithole Creek watershed in Venango and Forest counties.

The plan will also identify potential impacts, threats, problems and opportunities to improve the coldwater ecosystem as well as build community awareness and support for the conservation of coldwater streams, then formulate a plan of action for proposed conservation and protection strategies.

As a condition of the grant, Penn Soil Executive Director Wes Ramsey said there will be a minimum of two public meetings to discuss the project, gather input from interested citizens and solicit comments on the draft plan developed near the conclusion of the process.

The first public meeting will be held at 7 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 6, at the Cornplanter Township municipal building. Penn Soil and other partners involved in the project will present an overview of the planning process and any observations or progress made to date.

The Cornplanter Township municipal building is located at 136 Petroleum Center Road.

For more information about Penn Soil and its projects, people can visit http://www.pennsoil.org.