Pennsylvania

How a rainy day and finicky fish launched a Pennsylvania program dedicated to unpaved roads

Published

11 months ago

April 10, 2025

How a rainy day and finicky fish launched a Pennsylvania program dedicated to unpaved roads

Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain

Some unpaved roads reveal nature’s simple engineering, like the path deer chose in a forest centuries ago. Native Americans used the deer paths to travel, and those trails widened over time for horses and buggies to become dirt roads.

Pennsylvania is home to approximately 23,000 miles of unpaved public roads, and there are likely thousands of miles more on private property and in the vast Allegheny National Forest. They’re more than just a quaint feature of rural America, too. School buses, mail and other delivery vehicles, first responders, and a growing number of gravel-loving cyclists and outdoor enthusiasts use them daily.

In places like Bradford County, which has the most miles of unpaved road in the state at just under 1,600, maintaining the dirt and gravel isn’t just about transportation and smoothing out a bumpy ride, though. It’s about water quality.

“With all those miles here, just about every dirt road in the county touches a waterway of some sort,” said Joe Quatrini, a dirt and gravel roads specialist with Bradford County’s conservation district.

Many dirt and gravel roads hug the banks of rivers and streams, two lines on a map following the path of least resistance like two synchronized snakes. On an ideal gravel road, rainfall disperses evenly across the surface, like a sheet of water, filtering through more land before it reaches a stream.

Unmaintained or “orphaned” roads that no one’s taking care of often sink or become deeply rutted, forming small bogs. When it rains, those rutted roads can funnel water, collecting sediment, trash, and other pollutants like pesticides, oils, and fertilizer into an erosive torrent that rushes into a creek. That sheer volume of water can wash away stone and rock beds that fish and other aquatic life need to breed.

“The sediment is the main impact from a dirt road, and that’s what our program aims to eliminate,” said Justin Challenger of the State Conservation Commission. “That’s why we’re more of an environmental program than a traditional, PennDot type of road program.”

The state’s effort to address sediment runoff from unpaved roads was inspired by some frustrated trout fishermen and resulted in the opening of Penn State’s Center for Dirt and Gravel Studies in 2001.

In the last two decades, Penn State’s unique program provided training and technical assistance for thousands of projects in nearly every Pennsylvania county. It has also advised a handful of other states, including Arkansas and Vermont, on how to develop their own.

Pete Ryan, a dentist and avid trout fisherman from Coudersport, in rural Potter County, saw that process play out time and time again on his favorite streams when it rained. One late-spring afternoon, in 1990, he eyed an overcast sky over coffee, looking for divine intervention in the charcoal clouds rolling through the county.

The sulfur and green drake mayflies were hatching all over northern Pennsylvania, and rainbow, brook, and brown trout would rise to eat them in the county’s cold, clear streams. Fishermen would try to fool a few into biting fuzzy hooks instead.

But Ryan hoped rain would ruin the fishing that day in “God’s Country,” so he could prove a point. And the heavens opened up.

“It was perfect,” Ryan recalled.

Ryan and another member of the God’s Country chapter of Trout Unlimited had invited a state biologist, a Penn State professor, and a fellow fly fisherman to Potter County to show them how those timeworn, unmaintained dirt and gravel roads affected water quality in those world-class trout streams.

Rain, like the kind they saw that day, flowed quickly into Big Moores Run, clouding up the water in the short term but also introducing pollutants and washing away rock.

“It was like pouring milk into coffee,” Ryan said of the runoff.

As a direct result from that rainy day in Potter County, a state task force on dirt and gravel roads was formed in 1993. For the next five years, volunteers from Trout Unlimited, a national nonprofit that advocates for clean waterways and fisheries, traveled the state, identifying approximately 900 sites where sediment from unpaved roads was disrupting waterways. The number of potential sites grew to 12,000.

State funding for maintenance was approved in 1997 and Penn State’s center opened in 2001, focusing on educating and training county conservation districts. From 1997 to 2013, the dirt and gravel maintenance program received $4 million in funding per year. That number jumped, in 2014, to $28 million with a minimum of $8 million per year dedicated to low-volume roads that see fewer than 500 cars per day.

“In most areas, the number of gravel roads are likely decreasing, but in some rural areas, when townships realize they can’t afford to maintain paved roads, they’ll actually rip it back up,” said Steve Bloser, director of the Penn State Center.

While students can’t major in “dirt and gravel roads” at Penn State, Bloser said, the center developed a “Rural Road Ecology” class primarily for forestry or engineering students.

On a recent winter’s day in Potter County, Pete Ryan and Andrew Mickey, the county’s dirt and gravel roads technician, took a drive out to Big Moores Run to see where the state’s gravel and dirt road maintenance program began.

Big Moores Run Road was covered in snow. Trout, Ryan said, are like the canaries in the coal mine—but for watersheds. They demand cold, clean water, free of pollutants. In Potter County, the trout population is thriving, because the roads are maintained.

“We don’t have development or industry,” Mickey said. “We just have a huge dirt-road network.”

When Mickey stopped his truck by a stream crossing, brook trout darted off in the clear water.

Fishermen aren’t the only group that care about dirt and gravel roads. All over the state, cyclists and runners are looking to gravel as a softer and safer substitute for traditional roads. Dave Pryor runs unPaved Pennsylvania, which promotes gravel and dirt bicycle riding and racing. He sees the state’s abundance of gravel and dirt roads not only as a playground but as an economic driver.

The 2021 unPAved race of the Susquehanna River Valley Pryor hosted saw more than 800 participants from all over the country converging on Lewisburg, Union County, for a weekend.

“There were a lot of events in the Midwest, and I figured we need to do this in Pennsylvania,” Pryor said. “The public lands we have in Pennsylvania are gems. We have miles and miles of quiet, gravel roads. We have some of the best in the country.”

On a fall day in Lehigh County last year, Pryor was out scouting random gravel roads near Emmaus. Like many, this one ran beside a creek. People lived along it, and every few minutes or so, a car would pass. Farther down the road, a metal sign credited the county’s conservation district and the Penn State center for a reconstructed stream crossing.

“Better roads, cleaner streams,” the sign read.

Pryor said he’s raced in other states where rainfall all but shuts riding down.

“Or it gets so muddy you have to walk your bike,” he said. “Here, it could rain for a week, and you’d get wet, but you’d still be able to ride.”

The bicycle industry now makes gravel-specific bikes that can cost as much as $6,000. There are magazines dedicated to dirt and gravel riding, and Pryor’s wife, Selene Yeager, wrote a book about the phenomenon called Gravel!

“Gravel riding is the hottest thing in bikes right now,” Outside Magazine wrote in 2020.

The Penn State center said Philadelphia is the only county in the state without a conservation district, and the city isn’t on its list of counties with unpaved mileage. The city does have dirt and gravel roads in parks, however, including Forbidden Drive, a gravel road that mostly serves as a popular recreation area for cyclists, runners, and hikers. It runs just feet from Wissahickon Creek.

In 2020, Pennsylvania’s dirt, gravel, and low-volume road maintenance program helped build or replace more than 1,200 culverts to break up surface water flow. It builds buffers and bridges and fills in roads that have become “entrenched,” or sunken, after decades of use. The program used 395,000 tons of fill to build them back up in 2020.

“Some of these roads can be 100 years old,” Bloser said.

While COVID-19 affected the number of projects able to be done in recent years, Bloser expects work to ramp up again in the coming years.

On very rare occasions, when homeowners and other stakeholders are gone and public use has dwindled, some counties will give their unpaved roads back to nature. That’s often the case with old logging roads. Bloser said the goal, in those rare instances, is to “obliterate” the road and fill it in.

Grasses grow again, then trees, and roads slowly become hiking trails and deer paths again.

2025 The Philadelphia Inquirer, LLC. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

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How a rainy day and finicky fish launched a Pennsylvania program dedicated to unpaved roads (2025, April 10)
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Pennsylvania

3 dead in apparent murder-suicide spanning from Pennsylvania to Illinois, police say

Published

11 hours ago

March 5, 2026

Press Room

3 dead in apparent murder-suicide spanning from Pennsylvania to Illinois, police say

Madeline Bartos,

Jennifer Borrasso

Updated on: March 5, 2026 / 2:16 AM EST
/ CBS Pittsburgh

Two women are dead in Pennsylvania and a man is dead in Illinois after an apparent murder-suicide, police said on Wednesday.

According to a report from the Pennsylvania State Police, the investigation began in Hillside, Illinois, when police there were dispatched after a man reported two women dead in Jackson Township, Pennsylvania. Police said that when officers got to Hillside, about 15 miles west of Chicago, they found that the man had died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

After identifying him, troopers said Hillside officers contacted police from Jackson Township to request a welfare check at the man’s home on Dior Drive, about 30 miles north of Pittsburgh.

Map shows distance from Hillside, Illinois, to Zelienople, Pennsylvania

KDKA

Police said officers used forced entry to get into the home and found two women dead from apparent gunshot wounds. It’s believed the two women were family members of the man who died by suicide in Illinois, investigators said.

Pennsylvania State Police said they’ve assumed control of the case and are “actively investigating” what happened surrounding the three deaths.

Police didn’t release any names, saying the process of formal identification and notification of next of kin hasn’t been completed. Sources told KDKA that the victims were a husband, wife and their daughter.

“At this time, investigators believe there is no ongoing threat to the public, and law enforcement is not searching for any additional individuals in connection with this incident,” police wrote in the public information release report. “This remains an active and ongoing investigation.”

State police didn’t release any other details on Wednesday but said more information will be made public when it’s available.

“My first reaction was shocked because this is such a close-knit neighborhood, and to think something that horrible could happen here is very tragic because they were such a good family,” neighbor Danielle Sporer said on Wednesday.

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Pennsylvania

Top Pennsylvania 2027 quarterback enrolls into Coatesville (Pa.)

Published

24 hours ago

March 4, 2026

Press Room

Top Pennsylvania 2027 quarterback enrolls into Coatesville (Pa.)

One of the top 2027 Pennsylvania high school quarterbacks from the 2025 season has announced that he’s leaving for a new home.

Per an announcement by Class of 2027 signal caller Mikal Shank Jr., the quarterback has left Harrisburg (Pa.) and is now at Coatesville (Pa.) for his senior season. Shank Jr. last season started 14 games for the Cougars and is arguably one of the state’s top returning players behind center heading into the 2026 campaign.

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Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania High School Wrestling Rankings Before 2026 PIAA States – FloWrestling

Published

1 day ago

March 4, 2026

Press Room

Pennsylvania High School Wrestling Rankings Before 2026 PIAA States – FloWrestling

Is Pennsylvania the most wrestling-centric state in the country? Does the Keystone State have the most talent? Or even the top talent? Is it harder to win a state title there than anywhere else?

These all are terrific questions, and the answers may vary depending on who you ask and where they’re from, much like our nation’s great pizza debate, where the answers will vary by region.

What we do know for sure, is that Pennsylvania is well-represented in the 2025-2026 FloWrestling High School Wrestling Rankings, but with the 2026 Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association Boys & Girls Individual State Wrestling Championships on the horizon, where do the competitors rank amongst their peers?

If you follow high school wrestling, you’ve probably already heard many of the names, whether it was at past PIAA events, national tournaments, international competition, college recruiting news or signings, etc.

Now, here they are listed by weight class in FloWrestling’s latest Pennsylvania-only rankings.

Among the most recognizable are Bishop McCort senior Bo Bassett (152 pounds), his brother and teammate Melvin Miller (172 pounds) and Adam Waters (189 pounds) from rival school Faith Christian Academy.

As you get ready to see who takes home the titles at the 2026 PIAA Individual State Wrestling Championships, set for March 5-7 at GIANT Center in Hershey, Pennsylvania, here’s a look at where everyone falls in the pecking order:

What Are The Weight Classes For High School Wrestling In Pennsylvania?

Boys: 107, 114, 121, 127, 133, 139, 145, 152, 160, 172, 189, 215, 285
Girls: 100, 106, 112, 118, 124, 130, 136, 142, 148, 155, 170, 190, 235

Pennsylvania High School Wrestling Rankings Before 2026 PIAA State Championships

As of Feb. 22, 2026

Boys

Girls

When Are The 2026 PIAA Boys & Girls Individual State Wrestling Championships?

The 2026 PIAA Boys & Girls Individual State Wrestling Championships will take place March 5-7, live on FloWrestling and the FloSports app.

The first girls wrestling champions in PIAA action were determined in 2024.

The road back to GIANT Center in Hershey, Pennsylvania, began with regional competition across 12 sites (eight boys, four girls) in February (Feb. 20-21; Feb. 22; Feb. 27-28; Feb. 28)

Among the highlights at the 2025 event was Bassett winning his second individual PIAA state championship and helping Bishop McCort to a Class AA runner-up finish behind Faith Christian.

Read more: 2025 PIAA Wrestling State Championship Results And Brackets

How To Watch The 2026 PIAA Individual State Wrestling Championships

Live coverage of the 2026 PIAA Individual State Wrestling Championships on March 5-7 will be broadcast on FloWrestling and the FloSports app, with news, notes, stats and more available on both platforms.

Archives will be available immediately following the conclusion of each match.

If you’re going to be in the area and want to catch the action in person, click here for spectator and ticket information.

Read more: 2026 PIAA Individual State Wrestling Championships Schedule & Brackets

2026 PIAA Individual State Wrestling Championships Brackets

Here’s where you’ll be able to find the brackets for the 2026 PIAA Individual State Wrestling Championships:

2026 PIAA Individual State Wrestling Championships Schedule

Here’s a look at when everything is going down:

All Times Eastern

Wednesday, March 4

4-7 p.m. – Media registration
4-7 p.m. – School registration (AA/Girls/AAA)
4-7 p.m. – Qualifying wrestlers’ workout (AA/Girls/AAA) (six mats)
6 p.m. – Officials’ meeting

Thursday, March 5 (Session 1)

7:30 a.m. – Media registration
7:30 a.m. – Admit coaches and contestants (AA)
7:30 a.m. – Late school registration (AA)
7:45 a.m. – Skin condition check (AA)
8 a.m. – Weigh-ins (AA)
9 a.m. – Preliminaries and first round (AA), six mats (52/104 matches)
12:30 p.m. – First-round consolations (AA), six mats
12:30 p.m. – Admit coaches and contestants (Girls)
12:30 p.m. – Late school registration (Girls)
12:45 p.m. – Skin condition check (Girls)
1 p.m. – Weigh-ins (Girls)
2 p.m. – First round (Girls), six mats (104 matches)
3 p.m. – Admit coaches and contestants (AAA)
3 p.m. – Late school registration (AAA)
3:15 p.m. – Skin condition check (AAA)
3:30 p.m. – Weigh-ins (AAA)
3:30 p.m. – First-round consolations (Girls), six mats (52 matches)
4:30 p.m. – Preliminaries and first round (AAA), six mats (52/104 matches)
8 p.m. – First-round consolations (AAA), six mats (52 matches)

Friday, March 6 (Session 2/Session 3)

6:30 a.m. – Admit coaches and contestants (AA)
6:45 a.m. – Skin condition check (AA)
7 a.m. – Weigh-ins (AA)
8 a.m. – Quarterfinals (AA), three mats (52 matches)
8 a.m. – Second-round consolations (AA), three mats (52 matches)
10:15 a.m. – Admit coaches and contestants (Girls)
10:30 a.m. – Third-round consolations (AA), three mats (52 matches)
10:30 a.m. – Skin condition check (Girls)
10:45 a.m. – Weigh-ins (Girls)
11:45 a.m. – Quarterfinals (Girls), six mats (52 matches)
12:45 p.m. – Admit coaches and contestants (AAA)
1 p.m. – Skin condition check (AAA)
1:15 p.m. – Weigh-ins (AAA)
1:15 p.m. – Second-round consolations (Girls), six mats (52 matches)
2:15 p.m. – Quarterfinals (AAA), three mats (52 matches)
2:15 p.m. – Second-round consolations (AAA), three mats (52 matches)
4:45 p.m. – Third-round consolations (AAA), six mats (52 matches)
6:15 p.m. – Admit coaches and contestants (AA/Girls/AAA)
7 p.m. – Semifinals (AA/Girls/AAA), 2/2/2 mats (26/26/26 matches)
9 p.m. – Fourth-round consolations (AA/AAA), 2/2 mats (26/26 matches)
9 p.m. – Third-round consolations (Girls), two mats (26 matches)

Saturday, March 7 (Session 4/Session 5)

8 a.m. – Admit coaches and contestants (AA/Girls/AAA)
8:15 a.m. – Skin condition check (AA/Girls/AAA)
8:30 a.m. – Weigh-ins (AA/Girls/AAA)
8:45 a.m. – Skin condition check, finalists (AA/Girls/AAA)
9 a.m. – Weigh-in, finalists (AA/Girls/AAA)
9:30 a.m. – Fifth-round consolations (AA/AAA), 2/2 mats (26/26 matches)
9:30 a.m. – Fourth-round consolations (Girls), 2 mats (26 matches)
11:30 a.m. – Third-, fifth- and seventh-place matches (AA/Girls/AAA), 2/2/2 mats (39/39/39 matches)
11:30 a.m.-3 p.m. – Admit coaches and contestants (AA/Girls/AAA)
3:40 p.m. – Parade of Champions (AA/Girls/AAA)
4 p.m. – Championship Finals (AA/Girls/AAA), 1/1/1 mats (13/13/13 matches)

When Was The 2026 PIAA Team Wrestling State Championships?

The 2026 PIAA Team Wrestling State Championships took place Feb. 6-7 at the 1st Summit Arena in Johnstown, Pennsylvania, and included 20 teams that survived the preliminary and first round of the tournament, which was held Feb. 3 at host schools across the state.

The advancing teams made their way to Johnstown for two more days of intense competition, with the 1st Summit Arena hosting the quarterfinals through the championship matches.

In Pennsylvania this year, there were 475 schools participating in boys wrestling.

They were divided into two classifications – 228 schools in AA and 247 schools in AAA – which are further split into 12 districts. Class AA is for schools with 1-308 male enrollees, and Class AAA wrestling includes schools with 309-9999 male students.

Read more: 2026 PIAA Team Wrestling State Championships Schedule & Brackets

Did You Know: PIAA Wrestling Has A Long History

The first state wrestling championships in Keystone State happened in 1938, while the girls were added to the action in 2024. The PIAA Team Wrestling State Championships debuted in 1999.

There are 14 four-time individual state champions in Pennsylvania. Another 30 have won three times.

2025-2026 FloWrestling High School Wrestling Rankings

Top 20 as of Feb. 18, 2026

Curious about how the top wrestlers from each state stack up against competitors from across the country?

Click here to see the latest high school rankings from FloWrestling.

FULL DUAL: Bishop McCort vs. Faith Christian | 2026 PIAA AA Team State Finals

Faith Christian has been dominant in team wrestling in Pennsylvania, and Bishop McCort keeps falling just short.

Trackwrestling Has Joined The New FloWrestling

Trackwrestling officially has merged with FloWrestling, bringing its powerful tournament tracking tools and live data into a modern, all-in-one platform.

Fans can follow every bout with pro-grade brackets, mat schedules, team rosters and detailed wrestler profiles—all seamlessly integrated within FloWrestling.

This move delivers a faster, smarter and more connected experience for the wrestling community. Through the updated FloSports app, users can track live results, explore brackets and even sign up for free alerts so they never miss a match.

FloWrestling Archived Footage

Video footage from all events on FloWrestling will be archived and stored in a video library for FloWrestling subscribers to watch for the duration of their subscriptions.