Watershed Conservation Plan - Destination Erie

land to development. Strong community support for advancing this plan was indicated by respondents'
ranking "reserving woodlands," "protecting open spaces," and "long range planning" as more important
priorities than developing new highways or recreational facilities.
The most important physical attribute of the Pennsylvania Lake Erie watershed (chapter 2) is its situation
within the largest surface fresh water system in the world, the North American Great Lakes. The 508 mi 2
Pennsylvania Lake Erie watershed includes more than a dozen major subwatersheds (see Figure 2.3). The
major subwatersheds are increasingly broader in the western half of the project area than in the eastern half,
where a steeper escarpment slope produces a well defined distinction between the physiographic zones known
as the Eastern Lake section of the Central Lowland physiographic province (known colloquially as the "lake
plain") and Glaciated Pittsburgh Plateau section of the Appalachian Plateaus physiographic province (known
colloquially as the "upland lake ridge"). The stream drainage patterns within the watershed are determined
by topographic and geological features that were modified by Wisconsin stage glaciation occurring between
28,000 and 14,000 years ago. Repeated advances and retreats of ice sheets deposited fine-grained, poorly
drained "drift" material on the surface of southern portions of the watershed, resulting in irregular stream
patterns and many "misfit" streams. A series of ancient lakes occupying varying elevations in the northern
part of the watershed between 14,000 and 12,000 years ago left surface deposits of well-drained sandy beach
ridges, each at successively lower elevations.
Although the registered archaeological sites known for the Pennsylvania Lake Erie watershed represent
primarily the prehistoric cultural episodes of northeastern North America known as the Archaic and
Woodland Periods (2,000–9,900 years ago), Paleoindian sites up to 13,500 years old are also known for our
greater region but have not been conclusively documented in the watershed proper. (chapter 3). No systematic
archaeological site survey has ever been conducted in the Pennsylvania Lake Erie watershed, but available
evidence indicates a "high probability zone" for archaeological site discovery extends across the project area,
within the well-drained soils of the Eastern Lake section of the Central Lowland physiographic province. The
Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission (PHMC) lists 127 historically significant properties within
the Erie County portion of the watershed, and historical accounts clearly depict a close relationship between
economic development and the watershed's streams, which provided an essential energy source for lumber
and food processing. Waterways were also central to development of the commerce/transportation systems
during the Historical period, exemplified by the portage routes between Lake Erie and French Creek first
developed in 1753, and the Beaver and Erie Canal (also known locally as Erie Extension Canal), which was
in operation from 1844 to 1871.
It is unclear to what extent Native Americans altered the landscape in the project area prior to arrival
of European colonists, although there is some evidence that prehistoric disturbances, such as fire, left their
mark on the watershed's vegetation, and that fire may have been used by Indians to maintain openings in the
forest (chapter 4). Deterioration of the watershed's aquatic and natural resources commenced with changes
in regional hydrology accompanying historic deforestation, widespread draining and filling of wetlands, and
the alteration/degradation of streams associated with the development of local industry, roads, and urban
centers. Natural climate changes occurring on a global scale between 1700 and 1850, near the end of the
"Little Ice Age," may have also contributed to local changes in hydrology and stream-flow recorded by
nineteenth century Erie historians. Few people appreciate the key role of Erie—and its water resources—in
the history of our nation, due to the strategic importance of our port for opening a trade route between Lake
Erie and the Mississippi Valley (chapter 4, section 4.6).
The major surface water resources associated with the watershed, besides its streams, include the diverse
submerged features of the Pennsylvania portion of Lake Erie; the extensive systems of ponds, wetlands, and
lagoons of Presque Isle peninsula; and Presque Isle Bay (chapter 5). Other significant aquatic-related
landforms include the Lake Erie coastal bluffs and small ravine ecosystems, stream valleys and associated
escarpments, and the floodplains adjacent to stream channels. The stream valleys of the Pennsylvania Lake
Erie watershed present numerous scenic, historic, and natural features that are greatly underappreciated for
their recreational and tourism value, such as waterfalls, sites of former mills and canal, and park-like natural
areas with stands of large old trees (see Table 5.1).
Long-term hydrological data summarized for several of the watershed's streams (chapter5, section 5.8)
reveal anomalies in stream-flow characteristics of Crooked and Mill Creeks, indicating that these streams
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