PA Environment Digest Blog: DCNR Announces Completion Of Pecks Pond Dam Restoration In Pike County

On July 23, Department of Conservation and Natural Resources Secretary Cindy Adams Dunn announced completion of a major dam restoration project and other improvements at Pecks Pond, a highly popular waterway in Porter Township, Pike County.

"Refilling actually began early last month and recently water began flowing over the replaced and enlarged spillway. It's now up to nature and, hopefully abundant rainfall, to restore the pond to former levels," Dunn said. "We realize it's been a long wait for the many Pecks Pond supporters but this project ensures a safer dam and healthier waterway for the future."

The secretary noted the Bureau of Forestry also is initiating an ambitious aquatic weed control effort in which herbicide applications will occur within a 100-acre weed management area with the goal of providing more open and weed-free water for recreational use.

A multi-faceted lake management plan is underway, with the bureau and Fish and Boat Commission concentrating on improving lake quality and re-establishing fishing potential.

The bureau is working with the commission to repopulate the 408-acre lake with largemouth bass and other fish species that have drawn anglers to Pecks Pond for generations.

Other species to be released include baitfish, crappie, yellow perch and bluegill or pumpkinseed.

During this five-year repopulation effort, only catch-and-release fishing will be permitted.

Undertaken and overseen by the state Department of General Services, the $4.6 million Pecks Pond project began in September 2016.

Complete drawdown was necessary to permit the most economical dam reconstruction methods; ensure safety of workers; and help address aquatic vegetation issues within the lake, which serves as a popular visitor attraction within Delaware State Forest.

Built in 1906 for recreational use by the then-PA State Forest Commission, the former dam was 170 feet long and constructed of earth, concrete and stone masonry.

Pecks Pond is fed by springs, Tarkill and Maple creeks, and unnamed tributaries, many of which host wild brook trout populations.

Along its eastern shore, a glacial lake bog -- among the largest in Pennsylvania -- covers about 40 acres.

Plants of note found there include carnivorous species, including pitcher plants, sundews and bladderworts. Pecks Pond also draws the petite emerald, a Pennsylvania rare damselfly.

Visit DCNR’s Fishing Information webpage for more on fishing opportunities within the Delaware State Forest.

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