Penn Soil RC&D Council
RC&D : "The Catalyst for Community Improvement"

Project Overview

In cooperation with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the Allegheny Outdoor Club proposes to fashion a bird-viewing area for tourists and local visitors of the Kinzua Dam and Allegheny Reservoir. The project would consist of:

·        A circuitous (loop) nature trail, four-tenths of a mile long, along the higher bank of the Big Bend Recreation Area downstream from the visitor center parking lot and along the Allegheny River.

·        Benches and picnic tables along the trail on the bank, overlooking the river.

·        Nature-oriented interpretive signs, panels or displays along the lines of those recommended by Watchable Wildlife, Inc., a non-profit agency, comprised of a consortium of federal wildlife management agencies.

·        A bird-viewing platform. From the platform, observant nature watchers would be able to view bald eagles, great blue herons, hooded mergansers, kingfishers, and a wide variety of other birds and wildlife on the shores of the river.

The project would involve a partnership with the U.S. Corps of Engineers (USACE), the Allegheny Outdoor Club (AOC), Penn Soil RC&D, and other interested and involved partners.  The scope of work would include brush clearing, construction of a nature trail and the construction of the viewing platform. The AOC would provide much of the labor involved in brush clearing. Funding would be obtained for trail and platform construction costs.

 Time frame: brush clearing, Fall 2006; trail construction beginning in the Spring of 2007, followed by platform construction in 2007 or 2008. The AOC would provide ongoing trail maintenance.

 Purpose

Since driving to the dam and viewing the structure and the pool behind the dam – the reservoir – is one of the top tourist attractions, if not the top tourist attraction, in Warren County, those who conceived this project feel it would be a major boon to tourism. It would enhance the visitors’ experience through using binoculars to see birds, picnicking in the wild, peaceful setting of the river bank, walking along the nature trail to see small birds and flowers nearby, and learning about the environment from the interpretive signs.

 This project would serve a number of important purposes. It would:

 Significance

The Kinzua Dam and Allegheny Reservoir and attendant Big Bend Recreation Area are the top tourist attraction in Warren County. Driving tours of Warren County are one of the most popular pastimes of local people and one of the most recommended activities to entice tourists of Warren County. Built in the late 1960s, the dam attracts people from all over the country and nearby Canadian provinces, but it also attracts a variety of birds, including America’s national symbol, the bald eagle.

 During most months of the year, the eagles, mature and immature, can be seen soaring high above the waters in search of fish food, but they also can be observed up close, talons locked onto to their prey and skimming across the Allegheny River to Dixon Island, just below the dam. The Allegheny River, a National Wild and Scenic River, holds many sport fish which double as food for raptors. The proximity of the dam holds the water temperature at a degree fish like, thus creating a good environment for big bird fishing.

 The site, with these birds and many others birds on the waters and banks of the Allegheny, creates a prime viewing spot. This brings visitors – local and tourists alike. During the summer, the Big Bend Visitors Center attracts an average of 100 people per day on a weekend, and in 2006 as many as 250 visited one day. It is the purpose of the stated project to enhance the experience of the visitors by providing them with a riverside nature trail, picnic areas, and of course, bird-watching from the trail and the viewing platform.

 This bird-centered recreational site could also be a destination for school field trips where students would learn first-hand about: