News

Please be sure to check the Calendar page to find out what’s happening currently with the Doc Fritchey Chapter and the activities we’re engaged in. Also, check the Documents page for our Hatches quarterly newsletters and see our News Archive_2013, News Archive_2014, News Archive_2015, News Archive 2016 and News Archive_2017 pages for information about previous years’ activities.

June 28: Sunoco pipeline penalties could benefit Lebanon County streams

On April 17, the PA DEP announced the creation of a new grant program funded by the $12.6 million penalty imposed on Sunoco Logistics related to construction of the Mariner East 2 pipeline. Grants will be awarded for projects that reduce or minimize pollution and protect clean water in the 85 municipalities along the length of the pipeline corridor.

The Sunoco Penalty Grant opportunity generated nine proposals submitted by five non-profit entities to improve the water quality in the Quittapahilla watershed. Three proposals were submitted by the Quittapahilla Watershed Association in partnership with The Lebanon Valley Conservancy (TLVC), with the crucial help of Doc Fritchey TU. For a complete list of the proposed projects, click here.

June 10: Women’s Fly Fishing Day nailed it – despite the rain!

A gloomy, rainy day greeted the 14 women who showed up at Ed & Nichole O’Gorman’s property for an introduction to the basics of fly fishing, hosted by our chapter. Membership Chair Chuck Swanderski who organized this event led off with introductions, followed by breakout sessions to learn the various elements of fly fishing.

Amidea Daniel of the PA Fish & Boat Commission and Amy Coen of the TCO Fly Shop in Boiling Springs covered tackle and gear selection, as well as basic knot tying and tackle setup. A second station was manned by Lynn Langer who displayed a tray of macroinvertebrates while Steve Long and Joe Notarangelo demonstrated fly tying techniques and how the imitations related to the critters in the tray. Rich DiStanislao conducted the fly casting instruction, at times under some pretty showery conditions.

After the rain finally stopped in mid-afternoon, chapter volunteers were on hand to guide those women who were interested in utilizing their newly acquired skills on the stream. All in all, it was felt by all who participated to be a very productive, fun day. Click here to see some pics of the event.  

June 9: Home Waters veterans fishing program celebrates its 10th. year

Twenty veterans from the Harrisburg and York Veterans Centers participated in the chapter’s 10^th Annual Home Waters event, once again hosted by Ed & Nichole O’Gorman on their beautiful Clarks Creek property. Each vet was assigned a chapter volunteer to guide them on the stream following the introduction activities hosted by RoseAnn Viozzi and a sumptuous buffet luncheon served courtesy of the local Applebee’s franchise.

The stream had been stocked several days before the event by chapter volunteers, and there were plenty of nice rainbows caught by both fly fishers and spin fishers alike. All of the vets we heard from  expressed their heartfelt thanks for their day spent as guests of the chapter. We couldn’t have done it without the commitment of RoseAnn Viozzi and our chapter volunteers to make this another memorable Home Waters event! Click here to see some pics of the event.

May 30: Hershey High graduate is awarded the 2018 Viozzi Scholarship

The Dr. Francis J. Viozzi Memorial Educational Scholarship for Environmental Studies was presented to a young lady, graduating from Hershey High School. She is an exemplary student with a 98.7 GPA. She has been very active in the community as a volunteer, including participation in The Walk for Clean Water. She plans to attend Susquehanna University and major in Earth and Environmental Science. 

This scholarship, administered by The Foundation For Enhancing Communities (TFEC), is awarded annually to remember and honor the late Dr. Frank Viozzi’s many years of outstanding service to Doc Fritchey TU.

May 1: Schedule announced for start of Snitz Creek Restoration Project

In preparation for the start of construction on June 16, volunteers are needed in advance to remove invasive brush from the streambanks in the project stretch. The following dates and times have been set:

Saturday, May 12 and Saturday, May 19 – 9:00 AM to Noon
Monday, May 14 and Thursday, May 17 – 5:30 to 8:00 PM
Monday, June 11, 9:30 AM  – Ground Breaking Ceremony

If you can spare some time to help out, please contact Russ Collins at 717-580-3958 or russthepres@gmail.com. You will need to bring heavy work gloves…and lopping shears and bow saws if you have them. Park in the gravel parking lot across the road from 325 Dairy Road in Lebanon. See the location map:
 https://www.google.com/maps/place/325+Dairy+Rd,+Lebanon,+PA+17042/@40.33323
8,-76.4719737,15z/data=!4m5!3m4!1s0x89c8a81b6a1a62fb:0x14802c34035285c5!8m2!3
d40.333238!4d-76.463219 

To learn more about what this project entails, see: http://www.dftu.org/snitz-creek/

April 24: Quittie receives stocking of large trout under PFBC Keystone Select Waters program

6 DFTU volunteers assisted PA Fish & Boat Commission personnel in the float stocking of the Quittapahilla Creek DHALO waters in the Quittie Nature Park in Annville. This section of the Quittie was added this year to the PFBC’s Keystone Select Stocked Trout Waters program, and as a result this stocking included an estimated 200 trout, mainly rainbows that were 14” or larger in size, with many exceeding 20.” To see a few pics of the day’s activities, click here.

April 3: Thanks to all who attended this year’s Annual Banquet!

125 chapter members and guests attended this year’s Conservation Fundraising Banquet on March 24 to help celebrate the 48^th anniversary of the founding of our chapter. As a special treat this year, widely known fly fishing expert Joe Humphreys was on hand to autograph his book Trout Tactics and share some of his anecdotes during his early years at Penn State working with fly fishing legend George Harvey.

Another highlight of the banquet was the awarding of the Gerald L. Miller Outstanding Volunteer Award to Cyndi Camp who has championed the chapter’s Trout in the Classroom (TIC) program since its inception, has served as treasurer, and currently serves on our board of directors. And after an accounting of his travels with the ceremonial “Net” this past year, Jim Rauch passed on the “Net” to Rich DiStanislao who will return next year to share his own experiences traveling with the “Net”

As always, there were plenty of unique live and silent auction items on hand to keep the crowd involved in the bidding process, as well as kayak, card and bucket raffles to round out the evening’s fundraising activities. We thank all those who attended and made this year’s banquet another rousing success! To see a few pics of the event, click here.

February 2: DFTU is looking for candidates to attend 2018 Rivers Camp

The 2018 Rivers Conservation & Fly Fishing Youth Camp is seeking candidates, ages 14 to 17, to attend this year’s camp to be held at Messiah College from June 17-22. Each year, our chapter budgets funds to sponsor 3 students at a cost of $550 per student. Further details are available in the Press Release. If you are aware of any students in Dauphin or Lebanon County who might be interested in attending, please direct them to our website.

January 16: Nominations needed for 2018 Volunteer of the Year Award

Each year at our banquet, some worthy DFTU member is chosen to receive the Gerald R. Miller Outstanding Volunteer Award in honor of his or her contributions to the chapter’s conservation mission in Dauphin and Lebanon counties. This award honors the outstanding volunteer efforts of the late Gerry Miller, and is determined based on the submissions received on the nomination form. Please be sure to submit your nomination to Rick LaTournous no later than February 27 to be counted.