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If only the waters of French Creek could talk — the tales told would be full of adventures.

Named by George Washington himself, the history of Crawford County cannot be told without mention of this tributary of the Allegheny River.

“So many people have stories and memories connected to the creek,” said Brenda Costa, executive director of the French Creek Valley Conservancy.

French Creek’s present is pretty remarkable as well – it was even named as the 2022 Pennsylvania River of the Year – in large part due to conservation efforts of the French Creek Valley Conservancy (FCVC).

The FCVC is a land trust organization dedicated to maintaining and enhancing the water quality, natural habitat, biological diversity and recreational opportunities of the French Creek Watershed. The organization also manages the French Creek as a designated water trail.

Brenda is passionate about the creek and is dedicated to preserving it and educating people about its diversity and history.

“It’s such a beautiful area to come and paddle because of these conservation areas,” she said of the properties the FCVC holds in trust as part of creek protection efforts. “The backside of recreation is you have conservation efforts to preserve that.”

The FCVC also plans many activities for people to enjoy and to spread awareness about the importance of conservation. It holds creek paddles, birding and property walks, hosts speakers and organizes a massive clean-up day in September that draws hundreds of volunteers.

The FCVC has 3,100 acres under permanent protection. Some of the properties have trails, which are listed on the FCVC website interactive map and, according to Brenda, visitors are encouraged to enjoy leave-no-trace recreation.

The website, frenchcreekconservancy.org, highlights ways people can explore the area such as kayaking or canoeing, fishing, hunting, geocaching and hiking. The FCVC has three launch areas in Cambridge Springs and Meadville with connections to local boating outfitters.

Since being named as River of the Year, the FVCVThis year is a special one for French Creek following its naming as River of the Year. The FCVC will host a summer sojourn on June 11 followed by a celebration at Voodoo Brewing Co. Compound. Winning the River of the Year distinction coincides with FCVC’s 40^th anniversary.

“This is a big deal. I was so encouraged by how much local participation we had. We won by a landslide,” Costa said of the competition, which comes with grant money attached to it, has brought attention to the creek and increased membership in FCVC. “People in the area truly treasure French Creek. Winning has brought a tremendous amount of visibility.”

French Creek is a treasure for being more biodiverse than any river its size east of the Mississippi. It also has a famous resident, the Eastern Hellbender salamander, which was named the state amphibian, and is the largest of its species in North America and second largest in the world.

With its history as a focal point during Colonial times well-known, Costa said now efforts are taking place to better understand the Native American story of French Creek and its pre Colonial history.

When looking back at its history, the present and future state of the creek is ever on Costa’s mind. The goal is to enable people to enjoy the same quality creek that our ancestors did, even if that might not be what people first notice.

“We understand how unique and special French Creek is and its importance. It is what is in and under the water, beneath the surface,” Costa said that makes the creek so special “What people do see is the beautiful place it is to recreate.”

One of Crawford County’s natural gems, Pymatuning Lake provides a picturesque backdrop for many of the stories told here in Crawford County.  One of these stories starts with a group of volunteers from across the region that plays a role in making visits to Pymantuning into treasured memories for visitors and residents alike.

These volunteers make up the Pymatuning Lake Association, a volunteer-run organization that has worked to promote, preserve and enhance the lake and surrounding area since 1945 — almost as long as the lake itself has been around.

While visitors have recognized Pymatuning Lake as a great natural destination for decades, it took the 2020 pandemic for one volunteer, Katie Wickert, to discover just how much the lake area offered right in her own backyard.

“The Covid shutdown and working from home gave me a chance to reset a little bit,” Wickert said. “I discovered the Pymatuning State Park holds free programs every month. They held a birding program, and I went.”

That first outing expanded her own backyard to 16,000 acres, which she began spending more time exploring and photographing. To this day, she is still discovering all the park has to offer and has since joined in the volunteer efforts as a member of the board.

The association puts on three fishing tournaments each year – crappie in April, walleye in May, and the Kids Fishing Derby in August. They are also involved with the Linesville State Fish Hatchery and help with projects to enhance the area, such as a new playground at the Tuttle Point Campground.

“What is so great, is it truly is a group of dedicated volunteers – residents, people who have cottages, people who have fallen in love with the area,” Wickert said.

And they’re not the only ones who love the park. In fact, Pymatuning State Park is the second-most visited state park of the Commonwealth’s 141 parks, with 2.5 million visitors a year. It is also the largest reservoir in Pennsylvania and is the location for the headwaters of the Shenango River. Historically, Pymatuning played an important role in the 1970s rehabilitation and re-population of eagles as an original nesting site, and today you can still spot them fishing around the lake.

Wickert has visited 139 of the state’s parks but says Pymatuning still stands out as a special place.

“The thing that is really special to me is just the diversity of the park – areas of the park are still really wild. There is boating, fishing, bird watching, limited hunting – there is something for everyone there,” Wickert said.

The area is slated for many additions and improvements including the second phase of paving the Spillway Trail, which has seen a 600 percent growth in usage.

In June of 2022, a rehabilitated historical truss bridge used in Oil Creek Township in the 1870s will be placed at the crossing of Linesville Creek. Tuttle Point Campground, which has been closed for 15 years, will undergo a multi-million-dollar rehabilitation starting this spring and be open for the 2023 camping season.

In 2021, Pymatuning State Park marked the 100th anniversary of the land acquisition that formed it, and Wickert said there is plenty more for people to discover and enjoy in the next 100 years around the lake. There is a plethora of free programming like hiking yoga, kayaking, kids fishing programs and that are all free for the taking.

“It is a great gem,” Wickert said.