News/Events

Slide 1

11th Annual Ride for the Lake

Fire up your motorcycles, join the Lake Wallenpaupack Watershed Management District (LWWMD) on August 26th (rain date Aug. 27th), and “Ride for the Lake”. The LWWMD is proud to host this 41 mile ride around beautiful Lake Wallenpaupack as part of Wally Lake Fest.

Registration begins at 10am and kickstands are up at 10:45. Pre-registration is appreciated, but you can register “day-of” when you arrive. More information and the registration form are linked below. 

Come enjoy a great ride with friends and raise money to benefit Lake Wallenpaupack. The LWWMD is a non-profit organization working with local government, residents, and visitors to protect water quality since 1979. So, lace up your boots, travel to Lake Wallenpaupack, help raise money for a great cause, and enjoy all that Wally Lake Fest and the Lake Region have to offer.

Map and Registration – Ride for the Lake – 2023

Cost-Share Program

The Cost-Share Program, offered annually, provides grants to help landowners address shoreline erosion, streambank erosion, stormwater, or agricultural runoff.

The Lake Wallenpaupack Watershed Management District (LWWMD) is pleased to announce the application period for our 2024 Cost-Share Program is open. The program is designed to provide financial assistance to landowners and keep Lake Wallenpaupack clean. Grant funding is awarded for projects in the Lake Wallenpaupack watershed that will help protect water quality. These projects may include shoreline erosion stabilization, stream bank erosion stabilization, storm water improvements, and agricultural improvements. Contact LWWMD if you have questions about your project/location eligibility.

2024 will be the fourteenth year of this successful program. Residential, commercial, and community properties are eligible. Grants may provide up to a 50% match of project cost; up to a maximum of $10,000. (For example-If your project cost is $20,000 the LWWMD may provide a $10,000 match.) Priority will be given to projects that reduce or eliminate the flow of pollutants into Lake Wallenpaupack and those that provide greater than 50% landowner match. Landowner match may be in-kind(materials/labor/etc.) or cash.

SEPARATE AGRICULTURAL APPLICATION -Agricultural Projects have a separate application and different maximum award. Applicants wishing to submit the Agricultural Application must qualify under the “Pennsylvania Right to Farm Law” (see link below). Those who do not qualify under this law are still eligible to submit a standard application for an agricultural project.

Funding for the LWWMD Cost-Share Program is provided by Brookfield Renewable through the FERC Relicensing Settlement Agreement of 2006.
2024 Cost Share Grant Application
2024 AGRICULTURAL Cost Share Grant Application
Fact Sheet- PA Right to Farm Law

For more information, contact Nick Spinelli, Executive Director at 570-226-3865, or nick@wallenpaupackwatershed.org.

Cooperative Habitat Improvement Program (CHIP)
Building fish habitat at Lake Wallenpaupack with the PA Fish and Boat Commission

Volunteers with the Lake Wallenpaupack Watershed Management District and PA Fish and Boat Commission’s Cooperative Habitat Improvement Program in September, 2018. 20 “Porcupine Cribs” were placed in Martin’s Cove.

Habitat Project Planning Ongoing

Map of Habitat Structures with GPS Locations

When Lake Wallenpaupack was built in the 1920’s, construction crews removed all of the structures in the Wallenpaupack Valley to make way for the lake. Nearly 100 years later, crews are busy putting structures back in the lake, albeit a different kind of structure. Early in 2013, the Lake Wallenpaupack Watershed Management District partnered with the PA Fish and Boat Commission (PFBC) to improve fish habitat in the lake through their Cooperative Habitat Improvement Program (CHIP). The CHIP program utilizes the resources and expertise of the PFBC and the local knowledge of groups like the Lake Wallenpaupack Watershed District. Between 2013 and 2018, we helped install appx. 100 porcupine cribs in various locations around the lake. As with most things, covid cancelled some of our habitat plans, and changed the rest. We haven’t had a volunteer-scale project since then, but we’ve still been doing lots of planning work on larger-scale projects and have installed structures without volunteers.

In 2021, 60 “Short Vertical Plank Structures” were installed in Lake Wallenpaupack, thanks in large part to the voluntary Bass Stamp funding. These structures are specifically designed by fisheries biologists to provide improved habitat in impoundments (man-made lakes) lacking natural habitat. According to the PFBC, “Artificial fish habitat may provide opportunities for anglers to have greater success if the artificial habitat is accessible. But the main objective, is to increase the abundance of submerged native habitat materials, primarily, wood and rock rubble, through engineered structure design that mimics native or natural habitat found in Pennsylvania impoundments. Wood and rock rubble are the key habitat elements that invertebrate and vertebrate animals use in lakes and impoundments. When the utilization aspect of fish habitat improvement increases the anglers’ success and provides opportunities for aquatic animals to increase in abundance and in efficiency, it is a win-win lake management tool.”

The CHIP partnership has been a great benefit for Lake Wallenpaupack and we’re planning for several different types of habitat being installed in the lake. “For many years, we’ve been working on establishing a relationship with anglers,” said Spinelli. “We want people to make the connection between healthy lakes and healthy fish populations. If we can get people interested in building fish habitat, maybe we can also get them interested in other ways to help protect the lake from pollution and accomplish the Watershed District’s Mission.”

Check back frequently for new announcements and other programs!