The Forbes Trail Chapter has a presence on YouTube thanks to Doug Yocabet who has established a channel for us. Check it out HERE.
You’ll find some videos of FTTUers explaining how they keep their gear on the stream. There’s videos on the chest pack, vest, and Richardson chest fly box.
You can also listen to a radio interview on the WCNS radio outdoors show from several years ago with then FTTU president Monty Murty. Monty Discusses FTTU activities such as youth education, Trout in the Classroom and conservation issues.

There is also a short video with Monty Murty describing one of Pennsylvania’s Special Places – The Laurel Highlands. You can view that HERE.

Forbes Trail Chapter TU invited Eric Harder as a guest presenter at one of its recent meetings.  The link you see will take you to that presentation which was recorded on Zoom.

Many of us enjoy the Yough River and its tributaries for fishing, rafting, kayaking and boating.  And of course many of you are familiar with the Yough River Trail, part of the Great Allegheny Passage that parallel’s the river from Confluence to McKeesport.  The Yough River stretches from beyond Deep Creek Lake to where it enters the Monongahela River in McKeesport.  It is 134 miles long and stretches through WV, MD and PA.

Eric Harder, AKA the “Youghiogheny Riverkeeper” with Mountain Watershed Association, discusses the Association’s advocacy, conservation, and outreach initiatives within the Laurel Highlands region.  Specifically, Eric covers water quality concerns within the Yough Watershed and ways residents can help “Defend the Yough”!

Trout Unlimited works closely with watershed organizations like MWA across the Commonwealth and across the US to help preserve and restore our precious coldwater fisheries.

If your organization is interested in having Eric make a similar presentation, contact Eric at  eric@mtwatershed.com or 724-455-4200 2#

You can view the entire meeting on Facebook FTTU Youghriverkeeper Meeting.

You may question their sanity, but the FTTU testing crew was out with temperatures in the teens at Rock Run taking water samples this past Saturday.
It was a “crisp” but beautiful winter day at Linn Run State Park, Rock Run was flowing moderate and as always, clear.

Air Temp: 19 degrees F
Water Temp: 29.5 degrees F
Linn Run Gauge: 1.91 ft.
Linn Run Discharge: 21.8 ft³/sec.
pH: 7.6
Alkalinity: 3.2

We also collected some snow from around the area, allowed it to melt, and took readings of those samples as well.
pH: 7.3
Alkalinity: 4.5

FTTU is now a registered charity with Amazon Smile. You can help support FTTU when you shop at Amazon by selecting us as your charity in smile.amazon.com, here’s how.

• Enter smile.amazon.com in your browser (you must start here, not at amazon.com)
• Sign in to your account
• Click “Get Started”
• Search for Forbes Trail Trout Unlimited in the Search field
• Select “Trout Unlimited – Forbes Trail Chapter 206”
• Shop and check out normally
• You should see, in the upper left of your browser, the Amazon Smile logo and “Supporting Forbes Trail Trout Unlimited”

.5% of your purchase will be donated to FTTU
Of course, we recommend supporting local businesses and fishing shops first, but if you will be shopping at amazon.com, do so through smile.amazon.com and remember to select Forbes Trail Trout Unlimited as your charity.

A new year of water quality testing begins on Rock Run. The flow is high with rain and snow runoff, so the stream’s alkalinity content is put to the test.

Air Temperature: 39 degrees F
Water Temperature: 40.5 degrees F
Linn Run discharge: 22.0
Linn Run gauge: 2.88
pH: 6.8
Alkalinity: 2.6

Our Holiday Special – Bardines Gift Certificate raffle wrapped up tonight, Tuesday, December 22, 2020. Over 500 tickets were sold and so we were able to award five $250 Bardines gift certificates. The drawing was held at 6pm at the Bear Rocks Community Center near Acme, PA. And the winning numbers are…

0226
0988
1289
1011
2432

The winners were notified by phone and the gift certificates will be sent out in the next couple of days.

The chapter did very well with this fund raiser thanks to an outstanding response from our membership. Thanks to your generosity, we were able to raise about $3,500 and we were able to make a $350 donation to the Westmoreland County Food Bank.

Thanks to all who participated. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

The testers braved the chill and completed the final water tests at the mouth of Rock Run on December 5.

December Numbers
Air Temperature: 36 Degrees F
Water Temperature: 40 Degrees F
pH: 7.2
Alkalinity: 5.0
Linn Run Gauge: 2.35
Linn Run Discharge:22

Highs and Lows
Air Temperature: High – 72 in August. Low – 27 in January.
Water Temperature: High – 67 in August. Low – 37.5 in January
pH: High – 7.5 in November. Low – 6.5 in January.
Alkalinity: High – 11.4 in August. Low – 2.2 in May.
Linn Run Gauge: High – 2.38 in January. Low – 1.4 in October.
Linn Run Discharge: High – 48.8 in March. Low – too low for a reading in August.

Averages for 2020
Air Temperature: 51.8
Water Temperature: 50.5
pH: 6.88
Alkalinity: 5.92
Linn Run Gauge: 1.92
Linn Run Discharge: 17.92

Surprisingly, despite the drought, Linn Run gauge and discharge averages were higher in 2020 than 2019 probably because of high flows early in the year.
pH was up in 2020, but alkalinity was down slightly probably because high flows produced low readings in January, February, March and May.
You can view the whole 2020 report by clicking here Rock Run Tests 2020.

Members may have already received a packet of raffle tickets in the mail from FTTU. Tickets are $10 each and the prize is a $250 gift certificate for Bardine’s Smokehouse www.bardinemeats.com. Bardine’s is one of the most popular places in our area for fine meat products. For every 100 tickets sold, we will give away one $250 gift certificate. So, if we sell 300 tickets, there will be three gift certificate prizes awarded. Proceeds benefit the chapter’s general fund. Even though our programs have all but ground to a halt in 2020, we are optimistic about resuming activities in 2021 including expanding our conservation work in the Linn Run watershed. Additionally, recognizing that 2020 has been a challenging year and this year’s holiday season will be a difficult one for those less fortunate, FTTU will donate 10% of the profits to the Westmoreland County Food Bank.

Please consider purchasing a ticket and sell a few to your friends and relatives. Fill out the top half with the buyer’s name and telephone number. Send that half in with a check made out to “Forbes Trail TU” in the pre-addressed envelope. Don’t forget to add a stamp. The drawings will be held at 6:00 pm, Tuesday, December 22, 2020 at the Bear Rocks Community Club. We cannot have a crowd at the club so instead you can watch the drawing live on the FTTU Facebook page. Winners will be notified and the winning numbers will be posted here in the FTTU News Blog.

Good luck and thank you!

The Citizen Scientists were at it again on Saturday, November 1st.
Readings taken at the mouth of Rock Run are as follows:
Air Temperature: 48 Degrees F
Water Temperature: 47.5 Degrees F
Linn Run Gauge: 2.01
Linn Run Discharge: 9.0
pH: 7.5
Alkalinity: 9.5

We also hiked in to the headwaters on the East Branch and took readings there.
EAST BRANCH
pH: 7.4
Alkalinity: 37.8

WEST BRANCH
pH: 6.8
Alkalinity: 2.1

MAIN STEM 200′ Below Confluence
pH: 7.3
Alkalinity: 35.2

The effects of the limestone sand dosing are plain to see from the difference in alkalinity. The limestone sand piles are located near the top of the East Branch. The West Branch has not been treated with limestone. The alkalinity test at the mouth shows the influence of the limestone (+7.4) 1.5 miles downstream.
The East Branch is about 3/4 mile long. The readings were taken about 1/2 mile from the limestone. Limestone sand is evident throughout the entire length of the East Branch. The West Branch is smaller and has a lower flow.

Due to the recent increase in local COVID cases, our monthly meetings will be conducted via Zoom until further notice.
Those on our Active Members list will receive an email with instructions on how to join.

The next tentatively scheduled in-person meeting will be Wednesday, February 3, 2021. Check back for more details and for time and location.