Watershed
Cleanup
Raccoon Creek Watershed Cleanups
The garbage and tire dumps in the valleys of the Raccoon Creek watershed were eyesores and unhealthy for our communities and streams. We did something about it.
Raccoon Creek Watershed Cleanups
In 1999, an informal coalition of volunteer groups and government bodies agreed to do something about illegal garbage and tire dumps in the valleys of the Raccoon Creek Watershed. The dumps were eyesores, gave a bad impression to visitors and residents of the various communities and were magnets for more illegal dumping.
The cleanup partners - the Townships of Greene, Potter and Raccoon, the Raccoon Creek Watershed Association (joined with Independence Conservancy in 2014), PA CleanWays of Beaver County (now Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful), Beaver County
Department of Waste Management, and Independence Conservancy identified and prioritized several highly visible dumpsites located along public roads. Many targeted sites contained a share of the over 100,000 tires which had been collected from tire shops and illegally dumped into remote areas of the Raccoon Creek Watershed in the late 1980s and early 1990s.
One cleanup campaign was conducted in Potter Township on Pleasant Drive; another on Moffet Mill Road in Raccoon Township; one in Raccoon Creek State Park; and another in Smith Township near Burgettstown. Two sites were cleaned up on the east and west sides of Little Blue Reservoir east of Hookstown.
Pole Cat Hollow
Pole Cat Hollow was the largest tire and rubbish dump cleanup conducted in or near the Raccoon Creek Watershed by the informal partnership. Over six thousand fugitive tires were removed and properly disposed from this site alone. The Pole Cat Hollow illegal dump cleanup enhanced abandoned mine reclamation efforts farther downstream at the former Pegg's Run Coal Company.
Kennedy Hill
The Kennedy Hill dump site in Greene Township contained over 3000 fugitive tires and 175 tons of household refuse. Corporate grants paid to remove all of the tires and much of the trash, which spoiled an otherwise beautiful oak and maple forest. Restoration began in 2006, but funding was exhausted by the end of 2007. Several tons of rubbish and small debris remain.
More Cleanup Campaigns
Beyond the Raccoon Creek Watershed, Independence Conservancy has partnered with local industries, municipalities, and other volunteer groups to deal with troublesome dump sites containing thousands of fugitive tires.
These and other Raccoon Creek Cleanups have removed 22,000 fugitive tires and 300 tons of illegally dumped residential garbage from our landscapes. We re-vegetated the former dumpsites with native plants to enhance wildlife habitat and add scenic beauty. Our efforts improved water quality in the Raccoon Creek Watershed by eliminating seepage from these dumps, reduced the likelihood of West Nile Virus by removing mosquito-breeding habitat, improved property values and quality of life for neighborhood residents by eliminating fire, safety and health hazards.
Little Blue Reservoir
In the summer of 2007 and the fall of 2009, Independence Conservancy tackled tire dumps around the vicinity of Little Blue Reservoir, locating, processing and properly disposing of over 4500 tractor trailer tires which had been buried in the reservoir and abandoned in farm fields.
Gateway to PA
In the spring of 2009, Independence Conservancy partnered with the Borough of Ohioville to eliminate a long-standing eyesore at Lock 57 Park on Little Beaver Creek. Household trash littered the cliff across the creek from the park, spoiling the view on this designated wild and scenic river. Volunteers from three local fire departments used hauled out the rubbish strewn over the cliff into the creek. Independence Conservancy volunteers removed hundreds of fugitive tires from the roadsides of Pennsylvania Route 68 near the Ohio state line, making the “Gateway to PA” sparkle.
Washington County Conservation District/Range Resources Volunteer Days
Each spring, Independence Conservancy teams up with volunteers from Range Resources to take on dump sites targeted by Washington County Conservation District. These are nearly always in remote areas and involve steep, challenging terrain. The Conservancy’s tire shear makes short work of the hundreds of tires that invariably turn up. Recent successes include cleanups at Meadowcroft Rockshelter near Avella, the Panhandle Trail near Colliers WV, and Bertha Mine near Burgettstown.
