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Mill Creek/Rose Valley Watershed General Information
Watershed Concerns
Rose Valley Lake Areas of Interest
Biodiversity of Interest in Rose Valley Lake
Rose Valley Lake Bird Area
Fishes of Rose Valley Lake
Fish Management Studies
Mill Creek Background Information
Mill Creek Water Chemistry
Macroinvertebrate Populations at 2 Locations Along Mill Creek
Fish Electrofishing
Riparian Assessment
Erosion Assessment
Erosion Assessment
Rider Park: Another Special Interest Area in Mill Creek Watershed

Mill Creek/Rose Valley Watershed General Information

Presented by Dr. Mel Zimmerman

Lycoming College CWI

Mill Creek originates from Rose Valley Lake and empties into Lycoming Creek maintaining a watershed of 24 square miles. The watershed provides the community with recreation including fishing and hiking and special interest areas such as Rider Park.

Rose Valley Lake is a 389-acre reservoir owned by the commonwealth of Pennsylvania and managed by the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission. The lake provides the community with recreation including fishing and boating and has three public access boat launches.

Watershed Concerns

Rose Valley Lake Areas of Interest

Biodiversity

Bird Area

Fishes of the Lake

Recreation –boating (non-motorized), sailing, kayaking, hiking, all-season fishing

Biodiversity of Interest in Rose Valley Lake

“The Blob”–Phylum Bryozoa-Pectinatellamagnifica

Freshwater Jellyfish

Phylum Cnidaria–Craspedacustasowerbii

Rose Valley Lake Bird Area

Fishes of Rose Valley Lake

The fish of Rose Valley Lake are managed under the Big Bass Program Special Regulations which are designed to increase the number of quality-sized individuals, specifically of the black bass species, through the implementation of higher minimum length limits. All other species are managed according to Statewide Regulations for Commonwealth Inland Waters.

Fisheries Technician Jason Detar with a nice 29” walleye from Rose Valley Lake

Fish Management Studies

Fisheries management staff conducts surveys of fish population and diversity using techniques such as trap net surveying and night electrofishing

Mill Creek Background Information

Dr. Mel Zimmerman and Lycoming College interns in an ongoing project have collected 20 years of data pertaining to the water quality, habitat condition, invertebrate populations and diversity, fish populations and diversity, riparian buffer zones, and erosion at two sites along Mill Creek. The first site is at Sugar Camp Bridge and the second near Dr. Zimmerman’s residence located on Spruce Brook Lane 1 mile from the mouth of the stream (LoyalsockLoyalsockCreek).Creek).

Mill Creek Water Chemistry

	Upstream Site -Sugar Camp	Downstream Site -Spruce Brook Lane
pH	6.95	7.03
Conductivity (µS)	77.5	102
Alkalinity (ppm)	18.5	31.7
Orthophosphate (ppm)	0.335	0.08
Phosphorous (ppm)	0.492	0.668
Nitrate (ppm)	0.82	1.12
Nitrite (ppm)	0.0096	0.0112
DO (ppm)	10.37	10.85
Temp (ْْC)	15.483	13
BOD (ppm)	1.25	2.75
TDS (ppm)	54.2	71.7

Macroinvertebrate Populations at 2 Locations Along Mill Creek

	Upstream Site -Sugar Camp	Downstream Site -Spruce Brook Lane
Total Taxa	32	27
Simpson Diversity	.872 +/-0.045	0.83 +/-0.04
Shannon Diversity	3.284 +/-0.47	2.97 +/-0.19
SurberDensity (#/m2)	732 +/-142	1504 +/-706
HilsenhoffBiotic Index	3.025 +/-0.381	4.17 +/-0.6

Fish Electrofishing

Riparian Assessment

Erosion Assessment

Summer 2004 study of erosion assessment on LoyalsockCreek and its tributaries under a Growing Greener Grant to LoyalsockCreek Watershed Association.

CWI interns Jim Rogers and Theresa Black and Penn College interns Don Muracoand Todd Hillegas

Erosion Assessment

Rider Park: Another Special Interest Area in Mill Creek Watershed

Rider Park is a public access park consisting of 868 acres of woodlands and meadows

An Advisory Board comprising various members of the community partner with the Directors of the Williamsport-Lycoming Foundation in managing Rider Park. This collaboration guides long-range and annual planning, as well as direct maintenance and development of policies for the Park.