Author: Wade Rivers
Happy Trails, Joe Bilotta!
Friends and FTTUers bid a fond farewell to FTTU Education Chair Joe Bilotta at a dinner at the Tin Lizzy in Youngstown March 20. Joe and his wife are building and moving to a new home in Annville, PA. Upon retirement, Joe wasted no time in getting involved with FTTU and took over the Education Committee duties a few years ago. Filling the big shoes of Drew Banas, Joe hit the ground running and did an outstanding job that would make Drew proud. From classroom lessons to on-stream events, Joe scheduled activities, coordinated with the schools and made sure there were adequate volunteers, supplies and equipment on hand.
As a testament to Joe’s good work, word has gotten out and requests for FTTU educational programs keep coming in.
Fortunately, veteran FTTU volunteer and Chair of our Women’s and Diversity committee, Angela Schultheis has agreed to take over the Education job as well.
Good luck Joe, we’ll miss you!
Rock Run Water Tests for 3.30.24
Spring is coming to the Laurel Highlands as the FTTU citizen scientists conducted water quality tests at the mouth of Rock Run.
pH – 7.2
Alkalinity – 3.5
Water Temperature – 41°
Air Temperature – 42°
Linn Run Gauge – 1.82′
Linn Run – 10.0 ft³/sec
FTTU Presents Member’s Vietnam War Experience
On March 13, Monty Murty, past president of FTTU, put on a presentation covering his on-the-ground experiences as an infantry army commander in Vietnam in 1968, the deadliest year of the war.
The event, held at the Westmoreland Conservation District barn, was attended by 64 veterans and guests.
So what does this have to do with Trout Unlimited anyway?
Trout Unlimited started a “Service Partnership Program” many years ago to teach military veterans and first responders to fly fish as a means to heal the body and soul. This has been a time-proven, effective healing technique. Forbes Trail has held five fishing events beginning in 2018. Veterans and first responders are invited to attend the event this fall at the Kingston Veterans Sportsmen Club, east of Latrobe, on Saturday, October 5th from 9AM to 3PM. The event is free and fishing equipment, lunch and mentors will be provided. Preregistration is required. Details and registration instructions will be provided here on our web site in the spring.
Rock Run Water Tests 3.2.24
High flow today on Linn Run and Rock Run after heavy rains on February 29th. The Linn Run gauge bumped up again today with rain this morning.
It’s predictable, flow goes up, alkalinity goes down.
Air Temperature – 45°F
Water Temperature – 42.5°F
pH – 6.7
Alkalinity – 3.2
Linn Run Gauge Height – 2.3′
Linn Run Flow – 35.3 ft³/sec
Rock Run Water Tests for February
Water test results for February:
Water Temperature: 38° F
Air Temperature: 30° F
Linn Run Gauge: 2.08′
Linn Run Discharge: 24.2 ft³/sec
Flow: Med/High and clear
pH: 6.3
Alkalinity: 3.6
Alkalinity goes down with higher flow. This time from snow melt.
Winter Newsletter
The Winter 2024 edition of The Trails is out. Download your copy by clicking here – The Trails Winter 2024.
FTTU Honored at State Meetings
FTTU President Larry Myers was presented with the Ken Sink Award for Outstanding Service to the State Council at the annual PA TU State Meetings held in September in Mill Hall PA.
In addition to all the endless hours of work Larry puts in on behalf of FTTU, he somehow managed to get five TU Chapters to cooperate and acquire funding for a successful relaunch of the Laurel Highlands Trout Trail.
Ron Rodgers represented us at the meetings and brought home the hardware.
Also, our newsletter, “The Trails” was again named best in the state by winning the Samuel Slaymaker Award. FTTU considers communication with members a top priority so a lot of effort is put in to each issue of “The Trails”. We also hope to inspire members to get involved with the chapter through our newsletter.
Congratulations Larry, and all who contribute to “The Trails”!
Rock Run Water Tests January 2024
The first monthly water tests at the mouth of Rock Run for 2024 were actually done on December 30, 2023.
Just a hundred yards or so below the test site rain changed to snow and began collecting in the tree tops and leaf litter. Winter is here!
Water Temperature – 39.5° F
Air Temperature – 32° F
pH – 6.8
Alkalinity – 6.0
Linn Run Gauge Height – 2.04′
Linn Run Discharge – 19.9 ft³/sec
Trout Unlimited Supports Local Food Bank
Forbes Trail Chapter of Trout Unlimited (TU) presented a $600 check to the Westmoreland Food Bank to help those in local communities in need of food. Through its annual, fall meat raffle, TU gave away eight $250 gift cards to either Werry’s Provision Meat Market in Scottdale, or Walmart. TU members sold 801 raffle tickets at $10 each to friends and family members throughout Westmoreland County. The winning numbers were drawn on November 16th and the gift cards were delivered shortly thereafter. TU shared 10% of the raffle profits with its partner, the Food Bank.
“I want to thank the members and all of those who purchased tickets or supported this project in any way”, noted Jennifer Miller, WFB Chief Executive Officer. “We are very grateful for this effort as it helps to feed 8,000 families throughout Westmoreland County who are finding it difficult to make ends meet. With this support we can assure that all neighbors who need our help throughout the year can rest easy knowing that people care enough to make sure that no one has to know the anguish of food insecurity.”
“This is the fourth year we’ve conducted this raffle and shared the profit with the Food Bank. It’s an easy way for our chapter to raise unrestricted funds for community, school and local stream projects” explained Larry Myers, Chapter President. “It’s an opportunity for all of our 500 plus members to get involved in fundraising with minimal effort.” Trout Unlimited also thanks our other partner, Werry’s Provision, for promoting our raffle on their Face Book page and selling tickets at their market. Their market is easy to find near Overton just off Rt. 119, and their meat quality and selection is excellent.
“We gave away one gift card for every 100 tickets sold, which are really good odds.” said Myers. “Winners got to select which gift card they preferred. The final drawing this year was for a $500 gift card. Knowing that each ticket purchased helps those in need of food makes the selling easier. There are many families in our communities who could use a helping hand, and the raffle is a simple means for us to provide that support.”
Rock Run Water Tests 12.2.23
Recent rains have pumped up the volume of Rock Run on this Saturday, the final water test of 2023.
Air Temp – 53° F
Water Temp – 45.5° F
pH – 6.9
Alkalinity – 6.1
Linn Run Discharge – 16.1 ft³/sec
Linn Run Gauge Height – 1.98′
pH and alkalinity averages are down slightly from 2022, but considering a pH reading of 4.7 was recorded at this loctation in 2005 we can rest assured our limestone sand project has had a overall positive impact on the stream.
Click HERE to download the final pH chart for 2023.
