WHIP Improves Aquatic Habitat in Abram Creek

West Virginia State Conservationist, Kevin Wickey (third from left) joined Governor Joe Manchin III and other partners announcing the Abram Creek Restoration project on April 19, 2008.

Abram Creek, part of the Chesapeake Bay watershed in Grant County, is being restored. Acid mine drainage from previous mining activities in the area has resulted in the loss of aquatic life in Abram Creek and many of its tributaries.

The goal of the project is to improve water quality, restoring aquatic life and recreational fisheries in more than six miles of tributary streams, and more than 18 miles of Abram Creek.

In 2006, NRCS provided $60,000 through WHIP to improve aquatic habitat. An annual instream application of limestone sand will help neutralize the effects of acid mine drainage. Limestone will be placed in the tributaries to be naturally dispersed into the streams by rain or rising water levels. The benefit accrual from limestone fines application begins immediately.

Restoration of the watershed will be achieved by ongoing neutralization of the acid content in the water by using limestone dosers, which are structures placed alongside a waterway that release limestone into the water increasing the pH level. The project is a cooperative effort─Federal and state agencies, as well as private entities have worked together to make this stream restoration possible.

As water quality improves, Abram Creek is expected to provide a diverse trout fishery, with opportunities for native brook trout expansion in the headwaters.

Abram Creek was prioritized by the multi-state North Branch Potomac River Task Force and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers as the most significant West Virginia contributor of acid water to the North Branch of the Potomac.

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