FCWA Fishing Creek Watershed Association
Working Together to Improve Our Watershed
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Our Mission:
To Promote the Health of the Fishing Creek Watershed


****UPCOMING EVENTS****

General Membership Planning Meeting
Monday, January 12, 7 PM


(See description below)
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****All events will be held in the Lower Level Conference Room in the Ag Services Building
at 702 Sawmill Road, Bloomsburg PA 17815 unless noted otherwise****


Fishing Creek Watershed Association General Membership Meeting 
Monday, January 12, 7 PM
Large Meeting Room, 
702 Sawmill Rd, Bloomsburg
Instead of a program this month, we invite you to join us for a membership planning meeting.
We learn so much from members about your concerns for the watershed and which topics most interest you.
​Your input helps us to plan programs and events that are especially meaningful for you. You inspire us!

Please share your perspective with us at a General Membership Meeting on Monday, January 12 at 7:00 pm.
Not a member?  Please come anyway and join the conversation---your opinions and insights will be appreciated!
Hope to see you!
Jennifer, Susan and Linda

FCWA–Celebrating 2025 and Welcoming 2026
Thanks to the support of our members and volunteers, Fishing Creek Watershed Association enjoyed another productive and interesting year. A major reason for that success is the quality of the speakers who enriched us with these educational programs this year. We are extremely grateful!

  • Dr. Eric C. Miller led a discussion on “The Good Life in the Era of Climate Change”..
  • Bill Williams took us back in time to meet the CCC Boys of Camp Morton.
  • Alan Belles, from our Columbia County Conservation District, reviewed the innumerable projects that improve the health of our watershed.
  • Clay Corbin, with help from John Slotterback, took us birding in Kocher Park.
  • Cynthia Schroll led us on two tours of the pollinator plantings in Kocher Park.
  • Tanya Nebroski and other members of the Bloomsburg Community Creek Cleanup Project amazed (and horrified) us with slides of the tons of trash they remove monthly from our creek and along area roads.
  • Dr. Irmgard Seidl- Adams opened our eyes to some of the tiniest residents of Kocher Park— the moss family.
  • John Oast, the “Fishyaker”, introduced us to a fast-growing new sport: fishing from kayaks.
  • Jake Klinger and Justin Faus, Columbia County Game Wardens, and Cadet Shaw educated us about black bears and taught us how to act when we meet them.

In addition to these programs, FCWA members took part in other events in our watershed, including Fish’n Fun at Kocher Park in June, the Fourth Annual Susquehanna Valley Watershed Festival in July, and several cleanups of Kocher Park and Fishing Creek. We had a very successful day at ArtFest in Bloomsburg in August, where our annual Container Garden Contest set a new record for money earned to fund the plantings at Kocher Park.

As we plan another active and educational year, we want to thank the members and friends who volunteered their time and offered suggestions to help us improve our conservation efforts. We are an all-volunteer organization, and welcome others to join us in our efforts to protect the health of our watershed. You can join FCWA or renew your membership by using the attached membership form. We look forward to seeing you at our programs in 2026, and wish you a happy and healthy new year!

Yours in conservation,
Linda Dietrichson, Susan Webster and Dr. Jennifer Whisner


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The ArtFest Container Garden Contest 2025

We had a beautiful day, excellent entries and helpful volunteers, so it was the best ArtFest yet! Our 15 container garden entries attracted much attention and earned a record $627 toward our Kocher Park pollinator projects.
Our thanks go to everyone who entered, the members and friends who helped at the booth and to all who voted for their favorite gardens. The winning garden, “Nurse Log”, created and built by Joan McCarty, Cynthia Schroll and Keith Kocher, was both educational and beautiful. Its destination after winning will be in the woods, where it will decompose and continue to benefit flora and fauna. Congratulations to Cynthia, Keith and Joan for their prize-winning natural entry. (Cynthia was not present for the photo of the winning garden.)  
In case you missed ArtFest, here are some pictures of the entries. We hope they inspire you to enter the contest next year and help us to set a new record! 
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 Become a member today!
Click HERE for Registration Form OR
​visit the membership tab above!

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  •                               Fishing Creek Watershed Association ---- 2024, another good year
  • The Fishing Creek Watershed Association is an organization made up of volunteers working together to improve the quality of the watershed. 2024 was another very good year of educational programs and activities.
    Applause and many thanks to the generous and gifted people who presented educational programs this year:
    • Dr. Jen Whisner led a workshop on winter seed sowing, preparing us for growing season.
    • Joshua Greene presented a program on Agriforestry, which integrates trees, crops, and livestock. 
    • Van Wagner took us on his adventure of climbing the highest tree in every county in PA. 
    • We went streamside for two programs: Larry Brannaka and Maddy Ferner explained and showed us the new Kocher Park streambank restoration project. Drs.Jen and Chris Whisner demonstrated water quality testing streamside at Kocher Park (and no one fell in!) 
    • Master Gardener Mari Jo Gibson presented a program on identification and control of invasive plants. 
    • Edie Gair from PADEP spoke about drinking water quality and safety, and her agency’s work. 
    • Archaeologist DeeAnne Wymer took us back in time to life along the Susquehanna in 1100 AD. 
    • Nicole Hall amazed us with her program on eels and her “Eels in the Classroom” project.
     
    FCWA members participated in the annual Fish N Fun event at Kocher Park in June, and joined others in several Kocher Park work days. Along with other Columbia County Watershed groups, FCWA was part of the third Susquehanna Watershed Festival in July. 
    The FCWA was one of the groups partnering with the CCCD in providing funding for two streambank stabilization projects this year. The Diana project stabilized approximately 670 feet of streambank along the main branch of Fishing Creek and included a riparian buffer. The Kocher Park streambank stabilization project was highlighted in one of our programs. 
    In our Container Garden Contest at ArtFest---our annual fundraiser to support Kocher Park---Nancy Beyer’s container won the popular vote.
    And here’s something else we hope will be popular: FCWA T-shirts! They will be available for purchase or order at our meetings, or you can contact us by email. 
    As we look forward to another exciting year in 2025, we welcome your participation in planning and attending our events and programs. We greatly appreciate your support for our watershed and invite you to become a member of FCWA! 
    You can join or renew your membership using the attached membership form. We look forward to seeing you in the new year-- wishing you a safe and healthy 2024!

    Yours sincerely, 
    Linda Dietrichson, Dr. Jennifer Whisner, and Susan Webster
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