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Robert Hughes knows that brook trout inhabit the upper reaches of Solomon Creek, and he’d like to see them establish a little further downstream as well.

Next summer, that may be possible.

Hughes, who is the executive director of the Eastern Pennsylvania Coalition for Abandoned Mine Reclamation, said plans for a dual dam removal/bank stabilization project for the stretch of Solomon Creek in Ashley are progressing, and funding has been obtained to get the work done.

Thanks to a $130,000 grant from PennDOT’s mitigation fund – resulting from work being done on the South Cross Valley Expressway, the project to improve trout habitat and repair eroding banks in Solomon Creek will begin next spring or summer, Hughes said.

And that’s good news for trout.

The work will focus on the stretch of stream from Cook Street to Wyoming Street, and will include the removal of a half-dozen dams, stabilization of banks, placement of rock structures and tree plantings along the creek. Also, plunge pools will be created for trout and banks will be graded to direct water toward the center of the stream.

Some of the work will focus on the area of Chester’s Hole, where the Ashley Trout Stocking Association holds a children’s fishing derby each April. At that location, Hughes said, the bank on the opposite side of the creek from where the kids fish is eroding. The bank will be stabilized, he said, and trees will be planted to provide shade to keep the water cool.

“We’re not going to make it to where you can’t cast. We’re going to improve that section and improve the access as well,” Hughes said.

Hughes joined members of Trout Unlimited in 2013 to conduct a trout survey of the Solomon’s Creek watershed. Of the 12 sites that were electro-shocked, brook trout were found in seven of them, mostly upstream above Interstate 81.

By removing the dams below, Hughes believes it will allow trout to move downstream and inhabit more areas of the creek. The dams, which include a larger concrete structure and a number of smaller “check dams” constructed of stone, allow water to pool up, according to Hughes.

During times of low flow, the pools essentially become stagnant, he said, and the temperature rises and oxygen levels drop. The pools are also being filled with sediment from the bank erosion and they create barriers to trout movement, Hughes explained.

“You want to have some pools in the creek, but the trout need to be able to pass through them so they can get to the next run,” he said.

The grant money will be administered by EPCAMR, who will oversee the dam removal, stabilization and the re-grading of stream banks.

Hughes said he often sees trout where the creek empties out of a tunnel underneath I-81 at Chester’s Hole, but surveys failed to turn up trout further below.

“When you get into Hanover Township, the electro-shocking turned up mostly warmwater species – fallfish, carp, creek chubs. We’re not seeing trout further downstream right now, but once this is done those trout should be able to move through Ashley and into Hanover Township,” Hughes said.

According to Hughes, the project is being done in cooperation with the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission and has the support of Ashley Borough and the Ashley Trout Stocking Association. The work is expected to take two months to complete, Hughes said, and all disturbed areas will be re-seeded or planted with trees.

A rubber pool liner used to create an impoundment in Solomon Creek is one of several structures that will be removed to improve trout habitat.
https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/web1_Solomon-Creek.jpg.optimal.jpgA rubber pool liner used to create an impoundment in Solomon Creek is one of several structures that will be removed to improve trout habitat. Courtesy of Robert Hughes

Surveys by EPCAMR and Trout Unlimited found brook trout inhabiting Solomon Creek above I-81, but numbers dropped off below the tunnel that carries the stream under the interstate in Ashley.
https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/web1_Solomon-Creek1.jpg.optimal.jpgSurveys by EPCAMR and Trout Unlimited found brook trout inhabiting Solomon Creek above I-81, but numbers dropped off below the tunnel that carries the stream under the interstate in Ashley. Courtesy of Robert Hughes
Grant will bring improvements to Solomon Creek

By Tom Venesky

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Reach Tom Venesky at 570-991-6395 or on Twitter @TLTomVenesky