Loyalsock Creek Men’s Club honored by Rep. Hamm, PFBC

At September’s monthly dinner meeting of the Loyalsock Creek Men's Club, Pennsylvania State Rep. Joe Hamm, R-Hepburnville, attended along with PA Fish and Boat Commission executive director Tim Schaeffer and Loyalsock district forester Eric Probert.

Schaeffer was on hand to commend the Loyalsock Creek Men's Club with their continued persistence doing habitat stream improvements on Little Bear Creek in Plunketts Creek Township in Lycoming County. The club has been making these improvements for 50 years and is the longest recurring conservation work event held in conjunction with the PA Fish and Boat Commission in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.

This is a record the club is very proud of and wishes to continue for many years to come. Schaeffer presented a member of the club with the Stanley Long Outstanding Volunteer Service Award. This is an award of the highest caliber that the commission awards. It is not awarded annually or on a regular basis. Gary Oechler has been coordinating the annual Little Bear Workday event with the PA Fish and Boat Commission and the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources for more than the past three decades. Oechler accepted the award with the premise that he was accepting it for the club and its members, without the membership, the work would not be able to be completed.

In addition to this award Hamm presented Oechler with a citation from the House of Representatives commending him for the work performed in organizing the annual Little Bear Workday. Hamm also presented the Loyalsock Creek Men's Club with a citation from the House of Representatives celebrating the 50th anniversary of the annual Little Bear Workday. Most of the stream improvement projects done in the past are directly related to giving children and handicapped individuals a place to fish without competition from other anglers.

Every year on the first Sunday of May, the club holds a fishing derby on the section of Little Bear Creek that is designated for children and handicapped individuals. This section of the creek is only open to fishing for those individuals year-round. The club would like to thank Hamm, Schaeffer, Probert and stream habitat specialist Mark Sausser in recognizing the club as an organization that is concerned with preserving and protecting the natural resources of the Loyalsock Creek watershed.