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Q
What are the in-stream construction restrictions (for crossing
replacements
) in Pennsylvania?
A
The PA Fish and Boat Commission has seasonal restrictions on in-stream work, based largely on the designation of the stream in supporting stocked or native trout.
Stocked Trout Waters: No in-stream work March 1 to June 15. Restrictions also apply to waters 1/2 mile upstream of the upper stocked trout limit, and 1/2 mile up all tributaries within the stocked trout water section. This restriction is to allow for spring stocking and fishing.
Natural Reproducing Trout Waters: No in-stream work October 1 to December 31. This restriction does apply to all tributary and headwaters of designated streams. This restriction is to facilitate the reproduction of wild trout, which often takes place in smaller tributaries.
Class A Wild Trout Waters: No in-stream work Oct 1 to April 1. This restriction does apply to all tributary and headwaters of designated streams. This restriction further protects trout in these "best of the best" native waters.
What if a stream is classified as BOTH Stocked and Naturally Reproducing Trout: Both sets of restrictions apply as outlined above.
Waivers: The PAFBC may grant waivers on a case by case basis for projects expected to go slightly over the dates described above.
More Information:
Contact your local PA Fish and Boat Commission representative for more information. For an interactive map of stream designations, visiting the link here and selecting "trout streams":
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Center for Dirt & Gravel
Road Studies;
Larson Transportation Institute;
Penn State University
201 Transportation Research Building, PA 16802
Toll-Free 1-866-NO-TO-MUD
(1-866-668-6683)
The Center provides education, outreach, and technical assistance related to PA's Dirt, Gravel, and Low Volume Road Maintenance Program.
Support provided by:
PA State Conservation Commission
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Conservation District Program Reporting
The DGLVR Program's first ever quarterly report was completed without any (major) problems. Nearly all 65 participating Conservation Districts were able to successfully submit the July-September quarterly report by the end of October 2018. Most Conservation Districts have already received replenishment checks based on the expenditures entered into the GIS system during the quarterly report. Response to the new reporting system has been overwhelmingly positive.
The Program's second quarterly report, for the October-December time frame, is due on January 15th, 2019. The good news for Conservation Districts is that, thanks to the new quarterly reporting process, submitting their Annual Report is going to be easier than ever! Look forward to some January webinars to serve as a refresher on the quarterly reporting
process
for Conservation Districts.
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2019 Trainings in the works
2-Day ESM Eligibility Trainings
2019 Environmentally Sensitive Road Maintenance trainings have just been finalized and are listed in the margin to the left. Registration for 2019 trainings should become available in January. Locations have been selected based on CD requests and trying to fill gaps across the state where trainings have not been held recently.
Annual Maintenance Workshop
The 2018 Annual Workshop Workshop was well attended in Indiana, PA in September. Preliminary planning is underway to bring the 2019 "back home" to the Centre region next fall. Look for an official date early in 2019 and more details to follow.
DGLVR Boot Camp
The Center's first two boot camps for new CD hires were very well received in 2018. The Center is currently planning to have an additional boot camp in the State College area in the summer of 2019. This 3-day field-intensive training includes surveying, a site diagnostic, an active culvert installation, an active DSA placement, and more.
Stream X-ing Boot Camp
new
Building off the success of the DGLVR boot camps (above), preliminary planning is underway to hold 2 additional boot camps focused on stream crossing replacements. The intent is to have active construction on a stream crossing, in addition to visiting many other completed and potential replacements to discuss surveying, bankfull measurements, structure considerations, grade control, and more. These are currently targeted for May 2019, but exact dates will depend on permitting and contractor schedules, look for more details in the future.
Miscellaneous
Other coming events: look for more details in 2019
- Regional project sharing sessions for CDs to share recent project work: Feb
- Webinars on various Program Topics: Jan-Mar
- Assessment training(s): Mar
- Administrative training: TBD
- GIS Trainings: TBD
Attendees survey channel grade at a 2018 stream training.
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Unpaved Road Assessments
The term "assessment" refers to the process of driving and inspecting unpaved roads to identify sections that are impacting water quality to make "worksites". Conservation Districts are, and have always been, free to edit their worksite inventory and add or correct these worksites at any time. Three one-day assessment trainings were held in the fall of 2018 for conservation districts. Additional assessment training(s) will be held in the Spring of 2019.
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CD Spending Reminder for 2019
With about $40 million of contracted projects currently entered into the Program's GIS record keeping system, Spring 2019 looks like it is going to be extremely busy in the field. Districts should remember to contact the Center early if they require assistance. Snow-free winter days are good opportunities to get ahead of the spring rush by planning out next year's projects early. Districts are reminded that all funding received previous to the FY 2018-19 allocation must be spent by June 30th, 2019, or it is as risk of being lost. The Program's new quarterly reporting system can be used to track spending of this "old money" and any specific questions can be directed to Center or Commission staff.
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In Other News...
this recurring feature highlights related topics outside the Program.
Center Wraps up DSA T
echnology
Transfer Project with Federal Partners
DSA placement in Muscatatuck Nat. Wildlife Refuge in Indiana
Over the last 2 years the Center worked collaboratively with the US Geological Survey, the US Forest Service, and the US Fish and Wildlife Service on a project to demonstrate the benefits of Driving Surface Aggregate (DSA). The work was completed under a Federal Highways Coordinated Technology Implantation Program (CTIP) grant and was designed to take successful practices and disseminate them to other federal land areas around the country.
DSA sections were installed on roads at two federal land management agency sites, Muscatatuck National Wildlife Refuge near Seymor, IN, and Green Mountain National Forest near Rochester, VT. At each site, an additional road section was surfaced with aggregate gradation mix that was typically used for previous unpaved road projects at the site (i.e., "business-as-usual"). Approximately 12 months after installation, the performance of road sections at each site was evaluated using three metrics: 1) sediment runoff using the Center designed rainmaker, 2) dust production, and 3) surface condition.
At Muscatatuck National Wildlife Refuge and Green Mountain National Forest, DSA reduced sediment runoff by 91% and 64%, respectively, relative to traditional aggregate sections and these results are similar to previous research done by the Center (
available here). DSA also outperformed the traditional aggregate at both locations when evaluated for road surface condition features such as raveling, potholing and rutting. Road dust was significantly reduced at Muscatatuck, while there were no significant differences in dust production at Green Mountain.
More information on the CTIP collaboration and full results can be found in a technical bulletin and recorder webinar that will be shared as soon as they are available.
Rainfall simulator running in Indiana.
"Have you ever seen the rain
Comin' down on a sunny day"
-John Fogerty
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