We finally got the word: Allegheny is River of the Year for 2017!! PA DCNR sent out the news release and it hit the local papers Tuesday Jan 10. Allegheny River got 42% of the total votes. That means the Allegheny got 7515 of the 16700 votes. This is the highest total votes registered in this contest since the online voting process began. Penn Soil RC&D Council, the nominating organization, wants to thank everyone who took time to vote and to spread the word to others. According to Janet Sweeney, Executive Director for Pennsylvania Organization for Watersheds and Rivers (POWR), the Allegheny had a 1500 vote lead over the second place river, the Brandywine Creek, in Southeast Penn. Wes Ramsey, Executive Director of Penn Soil Council said that “Whether the Allegheny River won or not, it was a great opportunity to bring attention to our beautiful river and increase awareness of this precious resource!”
Penn Soil will receive a $10,000 grant to run celebration activities during 2017. The Allegheny River will be featured on a poster which DCNR will print and distribute state wide.Stay tuned for more information on River of the Year activities. We’ll post additional information as it becomes available.