Letort's new territory: What's up at the old cress farm

[JimKennedy]

Brother anglers,
Has anyone heard what's up with the cress farm branch of the Letort. Two Harrisburg Anglers dinners ago there was much fanfare that a local conservancy had purchased the property, but I haven't seen so much as a #22 beadhead of information on what's happened since. Over the summer I fished the creek briefly before a washout thunderstorm and was impressed to see that clarity had improved substantially in the waters just below Bonnybrook where the cress farm branch joins the mainstream. Drove past the old cress farm and it didn't look much different, which is OK, but I was curious if there were any plans for streambed work to change it from cress troughs back to a creek. It'll be OK to leave it revert naturally, but the post-1947 Big Spring experience cautions that the troughs might just revert to a wide, shallow mudflat. Anyhow, anyone heard anything on the hardest creek any of us has ever fished?

Also, anyone hear any update on the Allenberry project and the prospects for that historic fly fishing spot remaining public?

(Full disclosure: My last name is Kennedy, but I am not related to the current Allenberry owners, or anyone else with any level of fame or fortune for that matter.)

Any details would be much appreciated.
Tight lines and enjoy the coming holidays!
jk

 

[Dave_W]

JK,

You'll be pleased to note that the cress farm fundraising and preservation project was completed earlier this year and the land has been purchased by the Central PA Conservancy. This project has taken several years to raise the money. There was a dedication ceremony there a few weeks ago. Streambed channel restoration is in the works. The PFBC and the CVTU are currently examining these options and they will tie in with a larger plan for the Bonneybrook area. These restoration plans will take awhile to develop and implement over the upcoming years.
I walked Bonneybrook and the Cress Farm today and the stream looks great with a stronger flow than I've ever seen for this time of year.

Regarding Allenberry: there has been no change in the situation.
The new owners allow public access to that section of the stream but you must walk down from the Run parking area. Anglers should stay off the resort property itself (you're fine if you stay in the water) Public access for fishing from the resort remains closed. There is also a plan for major stream structural improvements here as well. These improvements will probably begin early next year and the goal is the narrow the channell, improve habitat, and prevent the loss of the many large sycamores along the banks.

 

[troutbert]

What was the area now occupied by cress beds like originally?

Does anyone know? Is there historical record of that? Has anyone really studied the question?

Before you can do restoration you have to have some idea how things were originally.

 

[Dave_W]

The cress farm has been there since the 1870s.

One of the current problems CVTU has identified is the section of channell that runs along the paved road - there's some expectation that this may need to be adjusted. The nature of the meadow as a wetland prior to the installation of the paddies is also under consideration. I don't know enough to comment beyond this. . . other then to point out that - now that the long effort to get the property has finally come to fruition - the next process is really just getting started.
Gonna be awhile and should be interesting.

 

[troutbert]

Dave_W wrote:
The cress farm has been there since the 1870s.

One of the current problems CVTU has identified is the section of channell that runs along the paved road - there's some expectation that this may need to be adjusted. The nature of the meadow as a wetland prior to the installation of the paddies is also under consideration. I don't know enough to comment beyond this. . . other then to point out that - now that the long effort to get the property has finally come to fruition - the next process is really just getting started.
Gonna be awhile and should be interesting.

It seems very likely to me that it was a wetland originally.

 

[afishinado]

troutbert wrote:
What was the area now occupied by cress beds like originally?

Does anyone know? Is there historical record of that? Has anyone really studied the question?

Before you can do restoration you have to have some idea how things were originally.



It seems very likely to me that it was a wetland originally.

Checking on the conservancy site, it appears they have researched the history and have a good idea what the site looked like originally.

The property was first settled around 1720 by James Le Tort, a French-Swiss fur-trader, near a Shawnee village and the intersection of major Native American trading routes. Over a century ago, this east branch of the Letort was known as “Bonny Brook” for its natural beauty.

“How we value spring-fed systems like these has been ever-evolving,” said Ben Mummert, CPC’s director of land protection and stewardship. “In 1891, entrepreneurs saw that watercress, a leafy mustard green, thrived in settings flooded with cold, mineral-rich, spring water. The farm carved 10 acres of wetland into watercress beds and moved the stream into an unstable ditch. Alteration, silt, fertilizer, and pesticide reshaped the Letort here and downstream.”

CPC and partners are working on testing and research for a restoration design.

“This project marks a new chapter,” said Mummert. “The preserve will ameliorate stormwater, provide aesthetic and recreational amenities to benefit property values and public health, and strengthen a renowned trout fishery and associated angling and tourism industries.”

Link to source: https://conserveland.org/blog/central-pennsylvania-conservancy-acquires-letort-spring-run-property/

Interesting stuff > good stuff.

 

[JimKennedy]

Thanks gentlemen. These indeed are the good old days. Letort is better today than it's been at any other time in my life!
jk

 

[STONEMAN]

It being Thanksgiving, I give thanks to the many people who give their time and money toward these projects. The Conservancy had to raise a lot of money to buy the cress farm. I note that 600 plus people have viewed this thread. Let’s all support these efforts with our volunteer time and pocketbooks!

 

[klingy]

troutbert wrote:
What was the area now occupied by cress beds like originally?

Does anyone know? Is there historical record of that? Has anyone really studied the question?

Before you can do restoration you have to have some idea how things were originally.

If I am remembering correctly from one of the historical interpretative signs along the nature trail, the bonny brook area was extensive beaver meadows at the time of James Letort's establishment of his trading post in the early 1700's.

 

[klingy]

Saw this today and remembered this thread.

 

[salvelinusfontinalis]

Klingy,

Thanks for that link.

Special place in my heart for sure. I have not been there in a long time, I must remedy this soon. Thanks!
I think the

"Biggest Fish Ever Caught

The biggest fish on record was caught by a young man by the name of Terry Ward. The fish was twenty nine and a half inches long and weighed 10 pounds 4 ounces. The second biggest fish was caught by Rodney Glass, and this fish was just a little over 10 pounds."

is awesome! I remember seeing a few fish in this range over all the years. There was one fish in particular that had the most amazing situation happen and the visuals it manifested I will never forget. All for me, no one else knows. Gotta break it to you though, those fish are only credited by genes, those fish really don't belong there otherwise.;-)

Even still the Letort is an amazing place.

 

[Dave_W]

Neat link - thanks.

Voice interviews: the Confederate troops were under Robert Rodes.

 

[Acristickid]

Interesting that several old buildings in Carlisle still have bullet and shrapnel marks.

 

[tomgamber]

They actually showed us those bullet holes when my kid did his visit to Dickinson. He's a Junior there now and I still have not fished the LeTort while he's been a student. Shame on me. I've walked it but never made the time to fish.