Abandoned Mine Posts

By Andy McAllister, Watershed Coordinator

The Ohio River Watershed Celebration (ORWC) cruise is a hugely successful, free event that takes place every year aboard the Gateway Clipper Fleet’s vessels in downtown Pittsburgh.  The editors of Abandoned Mine Posts (AMP) recently spoke with Tom Grote of Stream Restoration, Inc. and member of the ORWC planning committee to find out more about the 2008 celebration slated for September 25th.

AMP: Tom, tell me a bit about the Ohio River Watershed Celebration.
GROTE:  The event came about as a way to celebrate the restoration of the Ohio River Watershed that has taken place over the last 20 years. Most of the restoration success is the direct result of small watershed groups working in the headwaters of the Allegheny and Monongahela watersheds.  The idea is to have people from all walks of life meet those who clean up the rivers while cruising up and down the river on a Gateway Clipper Fleet boat.  One of the things we realized when this started 7 years ago is that a lot of people don’t know the story about how the river got cleaner.  By having this celebration and having it free to the public, we feel it’s a way to spread that story.

AMP:  Historically, the Ohio River had been in pretty bad shape?
GROTE:  Actually, all three rivers:  the Allegheny, Monongahela, Ohio were heavily polluted in the past.  The steel industry had been responsible for part of that but a lot of it came from the historical coal mining activities throughout the watershed.  That mine drainage went into the different watersheds which eventually flow into the Ohio River. Today, the river has improved so much that a significant number of bass have returned to the three rivers.  The return of the bass was so pronounced that the International Bassmasters Tournament was actually held right here in Pittsburgh in 2005.

AMP:  So what’s on tap for this year’s cruise?
GROTE:  We’ve been very pleased over the years that the number of K-12 students attending the celebration has been growing significantly.  In 2007, we had about 800 attendees, of which 300 were school children.  Given the event’s popularity among kids, the planning committee decided that for 2008, we needed a second boat (the Empress) to provide a more extensive educational program for students K-12. So, this year is we’re offering the two cruises.  The “Imagination Cruise”, taking place aboard the “Empress” is designed for K-12 school kids.  Since we’ll be cruising on the Ohio River this year, they’ll be learning about all facets of the Ohio River.  Jenning Environmental Center’s Wil Taylor has been in charge of coordinating the program for the children’s “Imagination Cruise”.  In fact, to give you an idea of how popular this event is among school children and their parents, once we opened the registrations for the children’s boat, it only took two days to reach our registration capacity!  The other vessel is the adults only boat, the “Networker Cruise” aboard the “Majestic”.  Both vessels will be cruising the Ohio River at the same time.

AMP:  Can I still make a reservation for the adults only “Networker Cruise” aboard the “Majestic”?
GROTE:  Absolutely, we’re still accepting reservations for the adults only boat.

AMP:   What kind of activities take place on board and on the dock?
GROTE:  Boarding for the cruises begin at 12:30 PM and both boats leave the dock at 1:00PM but we have activities for adults and children on the dock starting at 10:30 AM.  This year we have folks from The National Aviary and the National Audubon Society giving presentations on the dock.  Also, the US Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) aquatic biologists will be on hand educating folks about stream invertebrates.  Those are just some of the things happening on the dock before the cruise begins.  Also, food and beverages will be available for purchase both on the boat and on the dock.
Between 10:30 and Noon, the attendees may get on either boat to check them out.  We’re encouraging the kids to visit the “Networker Cruise” to see what displays are like on the adult boat.  At Noon, everyone must get off both boats, then at 12:30, once both boats are empty, you then board the specific boat you’re registered for. 

AMP:  What do you have planned for the “Networker Cruise?
GROTE:  The “Networker Cruise” is meant to celebrate the work of Watershed Groups and to let them know we appreciate their efforts while at the same time celebrating the efforts of business and industry in cleaning up the watershed.  This year, our theme is “Innovative Energy for a Green World”.  We’re looking at different types of energy, ways to use energy more efficiently, new types of energy, and focusing on organizations that are doing things with new energy sources. 

In addition to providing networking opportunities, we will have several mini-presentations on some of these innovative energy topics and a narration by Dave Plank, retired from PA DEP’s Southwest Regional Office and Joe Dinkle from the Westview Water Authority.  Dave and Joe will be talking about the river, from its uses for transportation and community water supplies to historical sites along the river. It promises to be very informative.   We also have the watershed awards.  A panel of judges will examine each small watershed group’s display and will select the winners of four $500 awards and four $250 awards.  Former DEP Secretary, Dave Hess is one of the sponsors of these awards and will be on hand to give the awards out. The award categories are: Community Outreach and Education; Most Innovative and Cutting-Edge Projects; Best Overall Display; and Best Example of Partnership. To be eligible for an award, a group must be from the Ohio River Watershed; Work on a local watershed issue; Be a formal or informal association, alliance, conservancy, hunting or fishing club, school group, environmental group, FFA, 4H, or other like-minded group; Not be a local, state, or federal agency or private consulting firm.

AMP:  Sounds good to me!  What do I have to do to get a spot on the Majestic?
GROTE:  The ORWC steering committee raises the funds through sponsors to pay for the entire trip, so it’s free to the public!  All anyone has to do is register online.
Go to http://www.streamrestorationinc.org and click on event registration and if you’re an adult, 18 and over, select the “Networker Cruise”.   Please remember that the networker cruise is for adults, 18 and over. Dress is casual. The celebration happens at the Gateway Clipper Fleet’s dock on the Southern Bank of the Monongahela River in Station Square, Downtown Pittsburgh. Once you arrive at Station Square, you will find plenty of all-day pay parking at the Station Square parking lot right next to the Gateway Clipper’s entrance. For directions to the Gateway Clipper Fleet’s dock, click here.

AMP:  What about the schoolchildren who wanted to go on the “Imagination Cruise” aboard the Empress?
GROTE:  As I mentioned, that cruise is already full, however we’re keeping a record of everyone who tried to register for the children’s boat after it filled up and we expect to come up with a solution for next year. If you have any questions about this year’s event, you can call us at: 724-776-0150

This entry was posted on Tuesday, September 16th, 2008 at 2:30 pm and is filed under General, Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.