Conewango Creek is a

tributary A tributary, or affluent, is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream or main stem (or parent) river or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean. Tributaries and the main stem river drain the surrounding drai ...

of the

Allegheny River The Allegheny River ( ) is a long headwater stream of the Ohio River in western Pennsylvania and New York. The Allegheny River runs from its headwaters just below the middle of Pennsylvania's northern border northwesterly into New York then i ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

and

western New York Western New York (WNY) is the westernmost region of the U.S. state of New York. The eastern boundary of the region is not consistently defined by state agencies or those who call themselves "Western New Yorkers". Almost all sources agree WNY i ...

in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

. The creek's drainage covers much of southeastern

Chautauqua County, New York Chautauqua County is the westernmost county in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2020 census, the population was 127,657. Its county seat is Mayville, and its largest city is Jamestown. Its name is believed to be the lone surviving remna ...

, and western

Cattaraugus County, New York Cattaraugus County (locally known as Catt County) is a county in Western New York, with one side bordering Pennsylvania. As of the United States 2020 census, the population was 77,042. The county seat is Little Valley. The county was create ...

. The creek's most notable tributary is the Chadakoin River, which supplies the creek water from Chautauqua Lake. The Chautauqua Ridge, a

continental divide A continental divide is a drainage divide on a continent such that the drainage basin on one side of the divide feeds into one ocean or sea, and the basin on the other side either feeds into a different ocean or sea, or else is endorheic, not c ...

bounds the watershed to the north and west.

Course

Conewango Creek begins at New Albion Lake in

New Albion, New York :''not to be confused with Albion, New York'' New Albion is a town in Cattaraugus County, New York, United States. The population was 1,990 at the 2020 census. The town is named after Albion in Orleans County, the source of some early settlers. ...

and follows a meandering path around much of western Cattaraugus County. It joins with the Chadakoin River in

Frewsburg, New York Frewsburg is a hamlet and census-designated place in the town of Carroll in Chautauqua County, New York, United States. The population was 1,906 at the 2010 census. The ZIP code is 14738 and the telephone exchange (which extends past Carroll and ...

before heading southward into Pennsylvania. Conewango Creek joins the Allegheny River at the city of Warren, Pennsylvania.

River modifications

On September 26, 2009, an obsolete Civil War-era low head dam within the city of Warren on the Conewango Creek was removed. Removal of this dam allowed

fish migration Fish migration is mass relocation by fish from one area or body of water to another. Many types of fish migrate on a regular basis, on time scales ranging from daily to annually or longer, and over distances ranging from a few metres to thousa ...

from the Allegheny River throughout the upper reaches of the Conewango Creek

drainage basin A drainage basin is an area of land where all flowing surface water converges to a single point, such as a river mouth, or flows into another body of water, such as a lake or ocean. A basin is separated from adjacent basins by a perimeter, ...

. From August 25 through September 4, 2014, saw the demolition of two Civil War-era remnant dams on the Conewango Creek in

North Warren, Pennsylvania North Warren is a census-designated place located along the Conewango Creek in Conewango Township, Warren County in the state of Pennsylvania, United States. The community is located to the north of the city of Warren A warren is a network o ...

. One dam was a partially breached low head dam similar to the dam that was removed downriver in Warren in 2009. Because it was located in close proximity to the Warren State Hospital and used to provide a water supply to that facility in years past, this dam was known as the Hospital Dam. The second dam was a remnant rock and crib dam located immediately upriver of the first. With the removal of the Carter Dam in the autumn of 2009 and the hospital dams in 2014, the entirety of the course of the Conewango Creek mainstream are open and free of dams, improving the ecology of the Conewango Creek watershed. Removing the dam was a public safety service, and will reconnect most of the Conewango Creek for freshwater mussel host species.

Pennsylvania River of the Year 2015

On January 16, 2015, it was announced that Conewango Creek won the 2015 Pennsylvania River of the Year contest, an annual competition conducted by the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources and the Pennsylvania Organization for Watersheds and Rivers since 1983. The general public was invited to vote online for the designation from November 10 through December 15, 2014, choosing from among five waterways across the state. The winning organization was the Conewango Creek Watershed Association, a non-profit organization based in

, who received a $10,000 grant intended to be used to integrate the "River of the Year" message into a river sojourn focusing on the watershed's history, wildlife, local fisheries, and related topics. Other planned activities included a poker run, special fall celebration, creek cleanup, photo contest, and public water safety courses. The association also planned to explore starting a pilot stream ambassador program.

Natural History

The water of the Conewango sustains two rare fish species. The

burbot The burbot (''Lota lota'') is the only gadiform (cod-like) freshwater fish. It is also known as bubbot, mariah, loche, cusk, freshwater cod, freshwater ling, freshwater cusk, the lawyer, coney-fish, lingcod, and eelpout. The species is closely ...

, once common in the headwaters of the Alleghany River but thought to be eradicated has been found in the Conewango. The

paddlefish Paddlefish (family Polyodontidae) are a family of ray-finned fish belonging to order Acipenseriformes, and one of two living groups of the order alongside sturgeons (Acipenseridae). They are distinguished from other fish by their titular elong ...

, a native fish, was recently reintroduced to the area. The waterway also is home 19 native, freshwater mussel species, and boasts biodiversity rich in river otters,

bald eagles The bald eagle (''Haliaeetus leucocephalus'') is a bird of prey found in North America. A sea eagle, it has two known subspecies and forms a species pair with the white-tailed eagle (''Haliaeetus albicilla''), which occupies the same niche a ...

ospreys The osprey (''Pandion haliaetus''), , also called sea hawk, river hawk, and fish hawk, is a diurnal, fish-eating bird of prey with a cosmopolitan range. It is a large raptor reaching more than in length and across the wings. It is brown o ...

, herons, and other wildlife.

References

External links