PORT ALLEGANY — The Seneca Chapter of Trout Unlimited has received a grant of $2,300 through the Trout Unlimited national Embrace A Stream grant program for its Kinzua Creek Habitat Restoration Project.
Volunteers from the chapter will use the funds to restore Kinzua Creek near Westline in order to enhance spawning habitat for wild native brook trout.
“We’re excited to be able to do more great work restoring and improving Kinzua Creek thanks to this Embrace A Stream grant,” said Chase Howard, Seneca Chapter president. “With this grant, we will engage volunteers from our local community to work on a creek we all know and love as local residents and anglers.”
The Kinzua Creek Habitat Restoration Project will improve in-stream habitat, restore native riparian plant species, and stabilize the banks of the area. In the process, the group will reach out to hundreds, if not thousands, of community members through press releases, social media posts, and a site tour after the project is completed. Once the project is completed, the 600-foot section of stream will be ideal living and spawning habitat for native brook trout, while also decreasing erosion that impacts downstream sections.
Embrace A Stream is a matching grant program administered by Trout Unlimited that provides funds to local Chapters and councils for coldwater fisheries conservation. Since its inception in 1975, the grant program has funded more than 1,000 individual projects for a total of $4.4 million in direct cash grants. Local Chapters and councils contributed an additional $13 million in cash and in-kind services to EAS funded projects, for a total investment of more than $17 million.
“We’re thrilled to support the Seneca Chapter in its efforts to improve such an important local trout stream,” said Russ Meyer, chair of the Embrace A Stream grants committee, a group of Trout Unlimited volunteer leaders from across the country. “This year’s grant applications were extremely competitive, but the proposal for Kinzua Creek stood out in our committee.”
Along with the $2,300 grant, the Seneca Chapter will also be entered in the Embrace A Stream Challenge, a week-long online fundraising contest running Nov. 6-12 and sponsored by Orvis and Trout Unlimited to provide an additional $50,000 in cash prizes to these important conservation and education projects.
