Cross Creek Lake
BEFORE: Spring 2009 photo above
AFTER: Fall 2009 photo below

Cross Creek Lake
BEFORE: Spring 2009 photo above
AFTER: Fall 2009 photo below

Webmaster's note: This article was written before the fish kill occurred at Cross Creek Lake. Photos were added later to illustrate the various areas mentioned in the article.

Politicians should remember that Cross Creek Lake belongs to the people
 

By George H. Block
Observer-Reporter, Outdoors Editor

If you were down to your last pair of shoes you would hardly go out to the barn wearing them and shovel manure.
 
With that idea in mind is it any wonder that outdoorsmen and women are so protective of Cross Creek Park? In past years I would walk from the upstream bridge, which used to be a covered bridge, sit along the bank and enjoy the beauty around me. Sometimes I would spot a soaring osprey and marvel as it did a better job of catching a fish than my futile attempts. We complained under our breath as we walked in the swampy areas stepping on an occasional skunk cabbage or soft spot, but wouldn't have it any other way.
 
Now we sit and listen as the trucks go in and out and the pumps whine as they draw huge amounts of water from the lake. Trees and plants that were once green are gray with dust. The lane leading down to the lake was once a quiet walk but now one has to dodge large trucks and uncaring workers. You see my friends, the almighty dollar has won out again, proving that anything can be bought if you have enough money.

I was thinking all this as I entered the park and saw for the first time the No Trespassing signs on land that as a citizen of Washington County I thought was mine along with the rest of the populace. Instead of the birds I listen to the roar of the pumps and the jabber of the workers. This has been a dry spring as most have noted and on entering the park and passing the first swampy cove I noted how little water was running into the lake.
 
Little did I know that on my return trip I would have to cross a stream of mud flowing into the lake. It hadn't rained so the mud could only be coming from one place. Before the drilling we were assured this wouldn't happen. So much for assurances. No matter what the reason, accident or deliberate. I wasn't supposed to happen. Of course there is always the money. The economy is bad so lets sell the county.

We are assured that the drilling does little damage to the environment and yet at every turn in the road we see signs warning us of seismic crews working. If the drilling does no damage then why do we need to waste resources on seismic crews and such? Don't believe me? Just take a Sunday drive through Chartiers, Mt. Pleasant or Cross Creek Townships and see the beautifying of your county - and I should emphasize your county.
 
We have but one lake in the county that is worth fishing and that is Cross Creek. Is protecting this one piece of water too much to ask or is anything and everything for sale. Tom Campbell said it best when he said, "Why can't they just leave us alone? Allow one small piece of land and water be, where I can relax and get away from the pollution and noise of society."
 
Cross Creek Park and Lake used to be a place of renewal. Now it's a place of noise and dirt and a definite threat to the quality of the lake itself. For some years now the Pennsylvania Game Commission has stocked pheasants on Cross Creek Park property. Will hunters now face No Trespassing signs?
 
What of those who hunt turkey, coyote and woodchucks? Will they still be allowed to utilize the park property? Or will the wells and drilling activity supersede the public's use of the park?
 
Of course there is always the money.
 
All one has to do is walk along the bank of the upper lake to hear the opinion of what is happening at the park. I can't repeat what is said about the drillers and the politics that have allowed this to happen.
 
I can't help but remember that stream of mud flowing into Cross Creek Lake on a clear dry day during a dry month. It makes one sick.

A couple of years ago the lake was lowered to install water lines. The problem was that the lowering was done in the spring, right after panfish had spawned. The eggs were left high and dry hanging from the brush and grass along the shoreline.
 
We certainly do not need a repeat performance of this. Hopefully the fish have not spawned yet this year.
 
Here is where anglers could keep an eye on the shoreline and report any above-water spawn to the Fish and Boat Commission or Department of Environmental Protection.
 
While the public cannot control, nor should they control the resources on private land, public land is an entirely different matter. The public is the owner and the politicians merely the caretakers. You must ask yourself, are they taking good care of what you own?

Along the above lines or just thinking. I don't remember my first dollar but I do remember my first trout. I don't remember my income for 1965 but remember an eight-point buck. I don't remember my hourly rate for 1973 but do remember a quiet trout stream in McKean County full of brook Trout. I don't remember how much money was in my pocket that day four years ago as I sat on the patio with my 94-year-old mother. I was pointing to a Baltimore oriole in the apple tree and she was thrilled to see it.
 
That was the last time we sat on the patio.
 
Do you remember such or do you remember the money?