If you live in Carbon County, you know the Lehigh River. It's a source of income and pleasure—the lifeblood of the region.

What's amazing is how this river has been resurrected from the dead. For many years the river ran black with coal silt, and was sterile from acid mine drainage. In the mid-50s, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers built the Francis E Walter Reservoir—solely for flood control.

Following the collapse of the coal industry, and passage of the Clean Water Act, the Lehigh River started showing signs of life. So much so, that the Lehigh River Stocking Association was formed and began to stock trout in the river. Many of the tributaries in the Lehigh Gorge still contained wild populations of trout, some of which migrated into the Lehigh River and began to maintain residency.

As the water quality improved, aquatic insects and other fish species began to flourish. More and more trout were able to survive and grow to larger proportions.

Anglers and whitewater enthusiasts began to use the river more frequently. So much so, that the state of Pennsylvania and the Federal government began to take notice. In 1988, a secondary purpose of "recreation" was added to FEW Reservoir. This added purpose allowed the Corps to release water for whitewater events.

Recently, the PA Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, the PA Fish and Boat Commission, Wildlands Conservancy, local angling organizations, and the whitewater community united to improve the recreational opportunities on the Lehigh River through the Francis E. Walter Dam Flow Management Working Group.

Improvements to both the fishery and whitewater industries are bringing in millions of tourism dollars to Carbon County and the Pocono Mountains area. The catalyst to this rising industry is management of the FEW Reservoir.

The Army Corps of Engineers relocated a road from inside the reservoir to the top of the dam breast. This allowed for increased water storage in FEW and more flexibility with how the Army Corps could release the water to benefit whitewater and angling opportunities.

Before the creation of the Flow Management Plan, whitewater releases occurred 5-7 times a year. Now, the Corps schedules whitewater releases more than 20 times each summer. The results have become economically important to the area.

Water is also released during the summer months to augment flows to aid in improving trout habitat. Increasing the river's flow during the summer, when flows are typically low, has improved water quality by diluting acid mine drainage and sewage effluent. The catch is, that with additional water being sent down the river during the summer months, the trout fishery still struggles. The major reason is that warm water—water temperature exceeding 68°F—is released when the trout need colder water the most.

Before the death of the river and construction of FEW Reservoir, trout were abundant in the Lehigh's waters. Native populations of brook trout were present before man rained environmental terror on the river.

Stories recorded great catches of trout during summer evenings from the Lehigh's waters. Today, trout anglers are given a narrow window to prospect the Lehigh's waters for trout. April, May and June are the prime months—with May and early June being the peak.

Although the Lehigh still depends on stockings of rainbow, brown and brook trout to maintain fishable numbers, there is nothing more gratifying and fulfilling to most anglers than catching a large wild brown trout in a river the size of the Lehigh. Whether an angler uses bait, artificial lures or flies to attract his quarry, wild trout are the prize of the Lehigh, and the bigger the better.

Dean Druckenmiller

The story continues in Part II.