Foster Joseph Sayers Reservoir is a

reservoir A reservoir (; from French ''réservoir'' ) is an enlarged lake behind a dam. Such a dam may be either artificial, built to store fresh water or it may be a natural formation. Reservoirs can be created in a number of ways, including contro ...

located near the borough of

Howard Howard is an English-language given name originating from Old French Huard (or Houard) from a Germanic source similar to Old High German ''*Hugihard'' "heart-brave", or ''*Hoh-ward'', literally "high defender; chief guardian". It is also probabl ...

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, ...

. The lake is formed due to the damming of Bald Eagle Creek, 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 drainage ...

of the

West Branch Susquehanna River The West Branch Susquehanna River is one of the two principal branches, along with the North Branch, of the Susquehanna River in the Northeastern United States. The North Branch, which rises in upstate New York, is generally regarded as the exte ...

, as well as other smaller creeks. The dam was created in 1971 by the

United States Army Corps of Engineers , colors = , anniversaries = 16 June (Organization Day) , battles = , battles_label = Wars , website = , commander1 = ...

to prevent flooding and continue water quality down stream. The lake is named in honor of Foster Joseph Sayers, a

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

hero from the nearby town of Howard. He was awarded the

Medal of Honor The Medal of Honor (MOH) is the United States Armed Forces' highest military decoration and is awarded to recognize American soldiers, sailors, marines, airmen, guardians and coast guardsmen who have distinguished themselves by acts of valor. ...

for his acts of bravery at the battle near

Thionville Thionville (; ; german: Diedenhofen ) is a city in the northeastern French department of Moselle. The city is located on the left bank of the river Moselle, opposite its suburb Yutz. History Thionville was settled as early as the time of th ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

, in 1944. Also in 1971, the formation of

Bald Eagle State Park Bald Eagle State Park is a Pennsylvania state park in Howard, Liberty, and Marion townships in Centre County, Pennsylvania in the United States. The park includes the Foster Joseph Sayers Reservoir, formed by damming Bald Eagle Creek and ot ...

occurred with the formation of the new lake, bringing boating, fishing and swimming to the area. Common fish species in the lake are Sunfish, Catfish, Largemouth and Smallmouth Bass, Yellow Perch, Crappie and Tiger Muskellunge.

References

{{authority control Reservoirs in Pennsylvania Bodies of water of Centre County, Pennsylvania Protected areas of Centre County, Pennsylvania