In their indiscriminate haste to remove all dams in the Lehigh Valley, the Wildlands Conservancy is responsible for the massive fish kill this week at the Fish Hatchery. When General Trexler had the trout nursery built, they also built, just upstream, a small dam, to insure and regulate a water supply for the nursery. Last fall the Wildlands gleefully demolished that dam, removing an important component of the trout nursery. Although the heavy storm Monday night occurred hundreds of times in the last century, this time the dam wasn't there to regulate the fast moving water. Over 1,400 fish were flooded out of the holding pools and died. Last summer, I watched the Wildlands Conservancy give a power point presentation to Allentown City Council on dam removals. When I invited City Council to Lehigh Parkway to defend the Robin Hood Dam, the Conservancy crashed my event, and asked the council members to come with them to the trout nursery dam, to see their wonderful plans. I hope yesterday that the Conservancy had the decency to help pick up the dead fish.
The lesson here is that not all dams are without purpose. Wehr Dam was built to help maintain as much water as possible by the Jordan's
Disappearing Stream area. Without that dam the dry zone will be larger and more pronounced. Generations of valley residents appreciate it's beauty and history. Please join me this coming Saturday, July 19th between noon and 2:00pm at Pavilion 2, to help
Save The Dam.
UPDATE: The Morning Call article on
mcall Tuesday afternoon contained a paragraph describing how the fish hatchery workers believe that the dam removal factored into the fish kill. That paragraph was edited out of both the hard and soft copy editions Tuesday evening.
The Wildlands Conservancy is overstepping it's boundaries..their works have become self-important. Their works have become more about funding streams than saving streams. Too bad those trout paid the price..but to the W.C., maybe those trout don't matter?
ReplyDeletedreaming @6:24, you're correct about the Wildlands Conservancy, but don't underestimate their influence. Although a veteran of the fish hatchery for 45 years was quoted in yesterday's Morning Call web story about the dam removal, that reference has been deleted, from both the digital and print versions of today's paper.
ReplyDeletePerchance - before it disappeared - might you have taken a "screenshot" of the version that contained the incriminating quote? It would be nice to have this in your hip pocket as evidence to support your position(s).
ReplyDeleteThank You Michael,
ReplyDeleteFor making us all aware of these extremely important facts that were "swept under the rug".
This unfortunate event could have been avoided. For that matter totally prevented, as you state in this "eye opening" posting....PJF
wheathervain, i did grab the quote, although i never imagined that it would disappear this morning. additionally, i was contacted by other people yesterday, who also saw the mention of the dam causation, and wanted to point it out to me.
ReplyDeleteI was one of the persons that contacted you, and I read it in the article which I then put in a comment to one of your threads. I guess an interesting side story is why the quote was censured
ReplyDeleteMaybe allentowns administrational merchant removal carries the same message? The fish were a cancer that had to be removed?
ReplyDeleteThe counsil members heads that gave the infamous nod to this blunder should take a look at there invironmental agenda for reelection?
I have not caught a trout this year even at the stockings?
redd
patent pending
Maybe Allentown should have installed an electronic billboard at the Fish Hatchery to warn the Trout. After all, that is what General Trexler and Mayor Gross intended when they developed their master plan for a growing City....right???????? Hmmm. Council should turn a blind eye again and install one at the Rose Garden so they can advertise the Arena to westenders but then again, that could take away from lights in the Parkway. Heck, they could even watch a soccer game with a satellite hookup? If you cannot tell by the sarcasm, I am not very fond of Allentown plan to place electronic billboards in our public parks. It was a fishy deal as well. Some things are best left in a natural state over a small monetary gain in the grand scheme of things.
ReplyDelete@10:53, pawlowski has been using council as a screen for his controversial decisions. for example, last fall he thanked cynthia mota for her decision allowing the wildlands conservancy to tear down the dams on the little lehigh. guridy and mota know nothing of the parks, but create a plausible deniability for the mayor. save for an irritant like myself, the plan works.
ReplyDeleteMM 347. I totally agree. I mention Council as they voted to give him blanket authority to waive all zoning requirements and limitations as he sees fit. They also went along with his billboard lease. Some knew it was wrong but voted like good councilpersons.
ReplyDeleteThank you for your efforts in the Parkway. I admire the WPA treasures.
Allentown City Council is useless because 4 of the 7 members are "friends" of the Mayor.
ReplyDeleteAs "friends" they must vote with the Mayor regardless if they understand what they are voting on or they simply claim ignorance and put trust in the Mayor and his lawyers and bankers.
The voters of Allentown voted for these people who make these decisions.
Regarding the dam - I read the quote about the dam removal playing a part in the fish kill. I would like to see this investigated further. I would like to see Wildlands called out if this was not considered before removing the dam.
I don't trust them.
removing that dam has turned the fish hatchery into a fish killing field. that was the first big downpour since the dam was removed, but not the last. the men at the fish hatchery know what happened. the reporter knows what happen, but the morning call editors chose to cover for pawlowski and the wildlands, by editing out the quote.
ReplyDelete