Allegheny River Cleanup receives 2024 Outstanding Wild and Scenic Rivers Stewardship national award
- by Jeremy Bickling
- December 23, 2024
- Share:
Video by Jeremy Bickling, Stratos Media
Info from press release from USDA Forest Service, Allegheny National Forest
Three local leaders of the annual Allegheny River Cleanup have received the 2024 Outstanding Wild and Scenic Rivers Stewardship award, given by the USDA Forest Service.
The recipients are Piper VanOrd, Owner and Creative Director of Allegheny Outfitters in Warren, Pennsylvania; David Snyder, longstanding volunteer; and Nathan Welker, Aquatics Program Manager of the Allegheny National Forest.
The Forest Service annually honors employees, volunteers and organizations who have demonstrated a significant contribution to the protection and enhancement of rivers in the National Wild and Scenic River System.
These awards recognize exemplary efforts to protect and enhance the free-flowing condition, water quality, and remarkable values of over 5,000 miles of wild and scenic rivers managed by the Forest Service.
“I am proud of all this team has accomplished through nearly two decades of organizing collaborative river stewardship. Their work along with thousands of volunteers has dramatically improved the quality of our local waterways, benefited our local communities, and helped to conserve the remarkable values of the Allegheny Wild and Scenic River,” said Allegheny National Forest Supervisor, Jamie Davidson.
The annual Allegheny River and Reservoir cleanup days unite community volunteers, local businesses, non-governmental organizations, and government agencies to remove trash from the waterways in the Allegheny National Forest vicinity. VanOrd, Snyder, and Welker have led these cleanups, successfully removing tons of metal, tires, and trash for nearly two decades. These efforts also contributed to the nomination of the Allegheny River as Pennsylvania’s 2024 River of the Year, presented by the PA Department of Conservation and Natural Resources.
The award recipients were honored at the ANF Headquarters on December 9, 2024, during a nationwide virtual ceremony that presented four national awards. These efforts will be publicly celebrated at the 2025 Allegheny River Clean-up afterparty.
In 1992, Public Law 102-271 added 87 miles of the Allegheny River to the National Wild and Scenic River System, classified as recreational. The intent was to protect the existing outstanding and remarkable values of the river and to preserve it in a free-flowing condition for present and future generations. This designation applies to the following three sections, seven miles from below Kinzua Dam to the Route 6 bridge in Warren, 48 miles from the Buckaloons Campground to Alcorn Island (by Oil City), and 32 miles from south of Franklin to Emlenton.
About the USDA Forest Service – Allegheny National Forest:
Established in 1923, the Allegheny National Forest (ANF) is Pennsylvania’s only National Forest. Situated on the Allegheny Plateau, the forest is comprised of 514,029 acres in the northwestern corner of the state. The slogan “Land of Many Uses” captures a vision of a healthy, vigorous, working forest that provides timber and wood products, watershed protection, access to underground minerals, ties to cultural history, a diversity of wildlife habitats, and outstanding outdoor recreation opportunities — not only today but in a sustainable way so future generations can enjoy these benefits.
