Category: Linn Run
FTTU Volunteers Help With Live-Staking on Linn Run
On Thursday, October 29th, FTTU volunteers assisted the DCNR and Western Pennsylvania Conservancy with live-staking for stream bank stabilization at two locations on Linn Run and at one location on Indian Creek.
Live staking simply involves creating a hole in the ground about one-foot deep with a hammer and rebar then planting a two-foot long cutting.
The cuttings were taken from two native species, Ninebark and Elderberry. Both are woody shrubs that provide excellent bank stabilization. They were planted about 6 feet up the bank in about one-foot increments.
The cuttings will develop root structures over the fall and winter and hopefully leaf out in the spring.
We are hoping for a 60-70% success rate.
The Linn Run sites are a part of FTTU’s 2026 project and were funded by our Coldwater Heritage grant. The Indian Creek site was to vegetate a project that was completed this summer and was funded by Growing Greener,
FTTU Volunteers Help with Woolly Adelgid Treatment
Seven FTTU volunteers recently helped DCNR personnel with the treatment of Hemlock trees for Woolly Adelgid in Linn Run State Park.
The first day, the crew worked from Flat Rock to Adams Falls and the second day, from Adams Falls to the second cabin. Focusing on trees in the riparian zone of Linn Run.
In all, around 430 Hemlock trees were treated with insecticide to prevent Woolly Adelgid infection.
The Hemlock Woolly Adelgid is a tiny aphid-like insect that feeds on the sap of Hemlocks. It is native to east Asia and is invasive to Pennsylvania.
A Woolly Adelgid infestation disrupts the flow of nutrients in the infected tree and causes branch die back and the death of the tree in 4 to 10 years if left untreated.
The Hemlock is the state tree of Pennsylvania and is closely identified with trout streams providing shade and cover for trout.
FTTU IN THE NEWS
FTTU members were TV stars when our upcoming project on Linn Run was recently covered on a broadcast of the KDKA Evening News.
In the report, past President Larry Myers discusses our Linn Run Project scheduled for the summer of 2026.
At the time of this post, the video had over 4,000 views, more than all but one other on the KDKA YouTube page.
Rock Run Water Tests - September 2025
Desperately needed rain arrived on Thursday, September 25, 2025, but more is needed to bring up stream levels and recharge ground water.
Brook trout need good stream flow to move to spawning grounds.
Linn Run levels spiked up to 2.04 ft on Thursday afternoon but quickly dropped to 1.54 on Saturday morning when our sampling was conducted.
Water Temperature – 60.5° F
Air Temperature – 63°
Linn Run Gauge – 1.54
Linn Run Discharge – 2.04 ft³/sec
pH – 7.1
Alkalinity – 10.1
Rock Run Water Tests 7.30.24
Results of water tests at the mouth of Rock Run on July 30, 2024.
Air Temperature: 70° F
Water Temperature: 65° F
pH: 7.13
Alkalinity: 9.6
Rain is needed desperately. The flow in Linn Run’s headwaters is just a trickle.
The USGS gauge at Linn Run was at 1.45′ and the discharge was .88 ft³/sec. This is the lowest reading we’ve had in 5 years of keeping records. This is still not a record. According to the USGS website, the lowest discharge was .16 ft³/sec recorded in 2012.
Contrast this with April 3rd of this year when the stream was flowing at 454 ft³/sec and the gauge measured 3.79′.
Linn Run Conservation Plan Released
Forbes Trail Chapter of Trout Unlimited debuted their final Linn Run study results at a public meeting on March 30, 2023, at the Powdermill Nature Reserve. Thirty-five guests were present to learn about the overall health of Linn Run watershed and what threats to the stream need to be addressed.
The study began in April of 2021 and was funded with a grant from the Foundation for Pennsylvania Watersheds, a grant-making foundation that invests in efforts to protect healthy, natural streams around the state. The study was a “partnership” effort involving state and local agencies and nonprofit organizations, each bringing unique expertise to the table. Nearly fifty volunteers, including TU members, citizen scientists and professional chemists and entomologists worked on the project for nearly two years.
The specific studies looked at the water quality including potential pollutants such as E. coli, iron oxide, road salt and aluminum which can harm all aquatic life. Extensive sampling done for macroinvertebrates (trout bugs), showed that the main stem and the major tributaries all had a healthy variety and number of bugs.
Teams of volunteers conducted habitat assessments looking at every inch of the stream and tributaries from the first raindrop on Laurel Mountain to where Linn Run passes under the Rt. 381 bridge in Rector. Bank erosion from flash floods, hiking trail washouts, log jams and barriers restricting fish movement were some of the problems discovered. The Hemlock Woolly Adelgid (HWA), a tiny insect that infects the needles of hemlock trees, has been documented and could threaten the canopy over nursery waters.
A limestone treatment system installed on the largest tributary, Rock Run, in 2005 has proven to be effective at raising both the pH and alkalinity of the tributary to where it now supports wild trout reproduction. A similar treatment system might be considered for the headwaters of Linn Run.
The Coldwater Conservation Plan is part of a “process”. The next step will be for TU to meet with partners such as the State Park and Forbes State Forest officials to determine what remediation efforts DCNR might be able to work into their budgets and maintenance plans. Then, decide if grants and more manpower might be needed. Some activities such as clearing log jams after severe floods and monitoring for E. coli, the HWA and gill lice is expected to be an ongoing exercise by the partners.
Overall, Linn Run is a relatively healthy, but somewhat fragile, high gradient mountain stream. It and the surrounding park and forest attract well over 100,000 visitors each year. Linn Run is the “crown jewel” of the watershed and the Partners are committed to Conserving, protecting and restoring it using whatever resources are needed.
FTTU Volunteers Help Treat Linn Run Hemlocks for Woolly Adelgid
Forbes Trail Trout Unlimited volunteers assisted DCNR staff treat trees in Linn Run State Park for the invasive and destructive insect, Hemlock Woolly Adelgid (HWA). The treatment was conducted on October 20 on trees near the stream. This is the second year DCNR has called on Ron Miller and his crew from Forbes Trail for assistance. Trees were treated with an insecticide, mixed by DCNR staff, and injected around the base of the tree by volunteers Denny Hess, Ron Miller, Larry Myers and Bill Somogyi. The systemic treatment is absorbed by the roots and travels through the tree to the needles being attacked by the bugs. Another option used by DCNR in other areas is a predator beetle called Laricobius nigrinus (Ln). The chemical treatment works short term and is effective for up to 5 years or more. The beetles take longer to develop an effective population and is more of a long term solution. HWA is a major concern to TU because it threatens the canopy that keeps the headwaters cool where wild trout reproduce.
Electro-Fishing Survey in Linn Run Watershed
On Thursday, June 9, 2022 a team of Forbes Trail TU members and Josh Penatzer from the Loyalhanna Watershed Association completed a fish study on Linn Run. The sampling was part of the Coldwater Conservation Plan being developed by FTTU for Linn Run and its tributaries. The crew netted wild brook trout, stocked rainbows, sculpins, blacknose dace and an abundance of stone flies. Josh, who is licensed to use the equipment and conduct the survey, used battery operated probes to stun the fish enough that volunteers could capture them in nets. Once identified and measured, they we all released back into the stream unharmed. The crew sample four sites on Linn Run, including the headwaters, and one location on Rock Run, a major tributary. The detailed results will be made available in the final CCP report later this year.
Linn Run Cold Water Conservation Plan Update
Forbes Trail members and local volunteers wrapped up three days of water quality sampling and macroinvertebrate (trout bugs) studies on Linn Run and its tributaries in mid-November. They enjoyed beautiful weather for two of the days. But, the last day of macro, they had to deal with rain, falling temperatures and working under a dark pavilion to sort and identify the bugs. All in all, they collected a large quantity and wide assortment of bugs and the water quality in the stream is looking good.
Andrea Kautz from Powdermill Nature Reserve and Josh Penatzer from Loyalhanna Watershed Association were the bug experts assisting volunteers with sorting and making correct identifications. Strict protocols have to be followed for collecting the bugs from the stream, including the length of stream sampled, how long to kick the stream rocks and debris, and specific mesh nets to be used. The sorting and identification is a very tedious and eye-straining activity. Many of the bugs must be picked from leaf packs with tweezers.
Water quality samples were first analyzed stream-side by TU members for a number of parameters including pH, alkalinity and dissolved oxygen. Duplicate samples are being analyzed at St. Vincent College for additional parameters using a Microwave Plasma Atomic Emission Spectrophotometer. Analyses there include nitrates, phosphates and metals. Collectively the results will tell the overall health of the stream and its ability to support wild trout.
We thank all of the TU members and volunteers who gave of their time and talents to complete this portion of the study. We’ve had several volunteers from the PA Master Naturalist program offer their skills and expertise over the past year. We offer a special thank you to Elizabeth Bruner who is a 4-H and TU member and homeschooled senior from Blairsville, and Luke Sanner, 4-H member and sophomore at Hempfield High School for their participation. We are pleased to see the younger generation taking such an interest in coldwater conservation projects.
Woolly Adelgid Educational Video
The Woolly Adelgid is an invasive insect pest that threatens and can kill our state tree, the hemlock. Hemlock trees go hand-in-hand with brook trout streams in Pennsylvania.
FTTU’s Ron Miller has put together an excellent video that explains it all and what’s being done to save our hemlocks locally at Linn Run State Park.
Click HERE to see the video.
