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Woodcock Creek Lake Reservoir is located in NW Pennsylvania 30 miles south of Erie and 5 miles north of Meadville. The Reservoir is on Woodcock Creek in the French Creek watershed.

The Crawford County Conservation District and partners propose to improve the aquatic and shoreline habitat at Woodcock Creek Lake Reservoir by installing pre-cast concrete reef balls as habitat. The partners also propose to install 300ft of sawtooth deflectors along the shoreline. The proposed project will help complete a portion of a habitat management plan developed by USACE Woodcock Creek Lake and PA Fish and Boat Commission. This project will improve both the aquatic fish habitat at the lake and overall water quality of both the lake and local watershed.

The reservoir has an annual 8 foot winter drawdown that degrades fish habitat and eliminates native vegetation within the photic zone. Natural and sometimes even artificial structures are destroyed when ice is formed before drawdown begins. The reservoir was constructed in 1977 and habitat that was there when it was built has deteriorated over the last several decades. This lack of fish habitat and aquatic plants limits fish populations growth, fish recruitment, available food resources, and overall potential.
Eroded shorelines create unsafe areas for anglers to fish, impaired littoral cover for fish, create poor spawning areas due to siltation, lack food like macroinvertebrates which limits fish population growth, and increase nutrients which lead to harmful algae blooms. All of which contributes to overall poor water quality.

Woodcock Creek Lake Reservoir is a US Army Corps of Engineers flood control project located in Crawford County Pennsylvania. The reservoir's primary purpose is for flood control, but recreation is part of its mission as well. The reservoir is a warm water fishery that supports good bass, musky, walleye, and panfish fishery. The reservoir suffers from a lack of structure and a very poor aquatic plant community because of its seasonal 8ft drawdown. PA Fish and Boat Commission has been working with local partners to place various forms of structure in the reservoir including PA porcupine cribs, and rubble humps. USACE collects Christmas trees each winter which it places in the reservoir. Some of these structures suffer from ice damage due to the seasonal drawdown of the reservoir. This project hopes to provide needed habitat and structure to the reservoir that can also hold up to ice damage. The partners of this project propose to install pre cast reef balls in the reservoir.

This project proposes to install over 200 Concrete Reef Balls and improve 300ft of shoreline habitat with the installation of rock sawtooth deflectors. The Reef Balls will provide long lasting and high quality aquatic habitat at the lake which is lacking due to winter draw downs. The reef balls will be supplemented with trees and other brush periodically to improve all types of habitat for aquatic organisms. Shoreline improvements will improve angler access, littoral habitat, and water quality by reducing sediment and nutrients entering the local watershed. If funded this project will enhance work that has been already been accomplished at the reservoir by the partners of this project. In 2024 alone the partners of this project completed 66 Reef balls and installed over 250 tons of rock rubble humps.

Habitat improvement structures act as miniature food webs. Macroinvertebrates colonize on artificial structures once they are placed on the lake bottom. These organisms provide food for small fish populations. These small fish are then consumed by larger fish which are targeted by fisherman.
Artificial structures also provide shoreline protection which halts sediment and nutrients entering local watershed. Sediment can smother fish nests which are critical in fish recruitment. Sediment can also destroy native habitat that some macroinvertebrate species need to survive. It creates poor location to recreate and fish. They are often dangerous because of undercut banks and unstable terrain.
Excess nutrients can cause harmful toxic algae blooms which are not only dangerous to fish but also all terrestrial animals and people using that water source.

Woodcock Creek Lake Reservoir is a US Army Corps of Engineers project that is open to the public for outdoor recreation activities. The lake has hiking trails, a boat launch, playgrounds, and a swimming beach. This project will improve several shoreline sites used as fishing access by the public. Currently shoreline sites are heavily eroded by wave action and heavy use by shore anglers. Sawtooth deflectors will provide more complex habitat structure for better fishing as well as stabilized shoreline to provide a safer shore fishing experience. This project will also create an access road for Reef Ball installation on the west side of the lake. This access road can be used to fish new areas which were previously difficult to access

This project will improve several shoreline sites used as fishing access by the public. Currently shoreline sites are heavily eroded by wave action and heavy use by shore anglers. Sawtooth deflectors will provide more complex habitat structure for better fishing as well as stabilized shoreline to provide a safer shore fishing experience. This project will also create an access road for Reef Ball installation on the west side of the lake. This access road can be used to fish new areas which were previously difficult to access

• Walleye, Crappie, Smallmouth Bass, Largemouth Bass

• Nonpoint source pollution
• Excessive nutrients
• Algae blooms
• Siltation
• Limited littoral structure

• Other

• PFBC-Woodcock-Management-Plan-25.pdf
• Woodcock-Creek-Lake-Habitat-Map-2.25.pdf

An access road will be constructed on the west side of the lake to provide access for placing reef balls. Approximately 200 Reef balls will be ordered or produced on site and staged in this area. PFBC will assess if purchasing or buying them is a more economical solution to implement this project. The PA Fish and Boat Commission (PFBC) will be tasked with providing technical support and a contractor to complete the reef ball placement. A contractor will use a large excavator and a tracked rock truck to complete the task. The reef balls will be placed in a linear cluster throughout the west side of the lake. Ideally the lake bed would be frozen which makes moving around in the mud bottom easier without worry of getting machines stuck.
The shoreline project would be completed using heavy equipment. Approximately 300ft of stone framed and Saw-Toothed defectors have showed to be great habitat improvement devices to implement in PA. PFBC staff will work with a contractor to complete these proposed shoreline enhancements. PFBC staff will ensure that they follow the project plan and complete the projects as planned.
Volunteers from all partners will assist with adding brush or old Christmas trees to the structures once placed.

The lakes clarity is normally not suited for scuba type surveying and PFBC biologists recommend surveying it by recording using sonar technology. PFBC and Allegheny College Watershed Conservation Research Center staff will do a simple survey comparing before and after fish assemblage of the structures. This study will include a control site. This study will be completed in the fall when the lake is full pool. Staff will run transects with a small boat and record results. PFBC staff will look at the data and compare results.

PFBC and the Crawford County Conservation District will use social media like Facebook and Instagram to publicize project events and encourage the public to use the new structures. USACE Woodcock Facility staff will talk with park visitors about fish habitat projects and their value. These types of projects become great talking points to local schools. They will learn the importance of the local fisheries, why habitat is important, and ways to improve their local resource.

The data and information will be compiled into a final report. The final report will be available to publicize. It will include basic project information, objectives, structures completed, acres impacted, study results, funding expenditures, completed project photos, and other relevant information.

Woodcock lake was built for flood control and because of this the lake needs to have storage capacity in the winter months. A winter draw down is needed for this extra capacity to combat potential flooding in the spring months from the snow that accumulates. These draw downs destroy lake habitat and eliminate aquatic macrophytes. This project will provide shoreline stability and improved habitat to improve the fishery.
Shoreline devices are also being completed to combat raises of lake elevation from more severe storm systems. Larger and more intense storm events happen now due to climate change. Higher lake elevations with significant wind will create powerful lake waves that cause erosion. The rock humps in the shoreline projects limits the energy of these waves and the deflectors create a physical barrier to prevent erosion from taking place. Less erosion means less nutrients and sediment entering the watershed which will create less future algae blooms at the lake

This project will have a positive impact on both the fish and ecosystem for generations. The project will create an ideal habitat locations for game species which should provide for more fish abundance, species richness, and more quality size fish that anglers enjoy catching. These structures will counteract the impacts of climate change and a winter drawdown which is mandatory for public safety.
A lake that has a better fishery and nicer ecosystem attracts more park visitors which should also bolster the local economy. Local restaurants and bait stores rely on park visitors to stay in operation.

Please limit your proposed budget amounts to the grant period. You are responsible for accounting for the Non-Federal match as part of grant completion.

Note: Based on 2022 Bureau of Labor Statistics, Biological Scientists in State government made an average of $33.23/hr. Volunteers are often valued at $29.95/hr.

Partner Non Federal Cash Non Federal inkind Federal Cash Federal In Kind Info
PFBC $40,000.00 Cash for Molds and Concrete or prebuilt structures if its more economical
PFBC $20,000.00 Contractor for the placement of Concrete Reef Balls
PFBC $20,000.00 Contractor for Shorleine Improvments
PFBC $15,000.00 Staff time, Hotels, Fuel, and machine value
PFBC $5,000.00 Turtle Platform project- (roughly $250 a piece or more) 20 total
USACE $5,000.00 Cash for Molds and Concrete or prebuilt structures if its more economical
USACE $5,000.00 Shorleine materials
USACE $5,000.00 Staff time, equipment time
CCCD $1,500.00 Staff time

Contribution Total $85,000.00 $16,500.00 $10,000.00 $5,000.00

Federal Match $15,000.00
Non Federal Match $101,500.00
Grant Request $20,000.00

Total Project Cost $136,500.00

Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission (PFBC) Lake Habitat Section is a partner on this project. PFBC will be providing technical and logistical support for the project. PFBC will also provide matching funds for this project.

• PFBC-Letter-of-support-Woodcock-Creek-Lake-25.pdf
• WCRC-Letter-of-Support-Woodcock-Res-Habitat.pdf
• CCCD-Morris-LOS-FCVC.pdf