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Written by Nick Pinizzotto, Director of the Western PA
Conservancy's Watershed Assistance Center
 ow
many people do you know who work a full-time job including
evenings and weekends for no monetary compensation? Art Grguric,
Director and Trout Nursery Manager for the Blackleggs Creek
Watershed Association, certainly falls into that category.
It is true that there are many individuals across the Commonwealth
who put in long hours as volunteers making a difference for
watershed organizations, but Art has taken the term volunteer
to a new level. It is his unparalleled commitment to watershed
restoration as well as his work in making his Southern Indiana
County community of Saltsburg a better place to live that
makes him this month's Watershed Hero.
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| Art looking over the construction of
the Kolb AMD Treatment Project |
have had the personal opportunity to work alongside literally
hundreds of people within watershed organizations in western
Pennsylvania, and I have yet to come across an individual with
as much drive and as big of a heart as Art Grguric. You have
to know him and his family to understand just how much he has
sacrificed over the years in an effort to make a difference
in his community. I could go on forever sighting examples. It's
great that Art is being recognized as a Watershed Hero because
he never seems to accept credit for the difference he has made.
He is an inspiration and personal hero to me.
 rt
grew up in the tough town of Homewood just outside of Pittsburgh
in the early 1950's. After a few too many gang fights, his
father decided to move the family to Irwin, Westmoreland County.
At age 18, Art began building homes, which he did until 1975
when he began working as a coal miner in Indiana County. Art
and his family moved to Saltsburg in 1980 where he worked
for over twenty years at the Luzerne #9 mine as a construction
foreman for the Rochester and Pittsburgh Coal Company. In
1994, Art left the coalmines to open his own business, Full
Draw Archery, where he is still the owner and operator. The
longstanding joke in the neighborhood is that the shop is
never open and Art is never there. This is usually because
he is out donating his time to the community. All of this
and he still maintains a busy family life. His family includes
his wife Donna, sons Artie and Nicholas, daughters Melissa
and Amy and several grandchildren. Art gives much of the credit
for his accomplishments to his family for being supportive
and understanding of his commitment to conservation.
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| Art explaining how the mesh screen works
on the Kolb project to Ben
Wright from the Watershed Assistance Center |
 hile
still working at the Luzerne #9 mine, Art and a few coworkers
often wondered what it would be like to be able to fish in
Blacklegs Creek instead of having to travel to find a suitable
trout stream. This original group of people went together
and purchased some trout on their own to stock in the headwaters
of the stream to see if the fish would survive. As it turned
out, this was the start of the Blackleggs Trout Nursery and
eventually, the Blackleggs Watershed Association. Art and
his fellow sportsmen worked with the Pennsylvania Fish and
Boat Commission (PFBC) as well as their employer, the Rochester
and Pittsburgh Coal Company, to establish a cooperative trout
nursery. This was a huge step considering the stream was not
even listed as an approved trout water. The nursery was constructed
in 1996 with the majority of the materials, labor and even
the property being donated. Blacklegs Creek received its first
stocking of trout from the nursery in 1987. Shortly after,
the stream was added to the PFBC approved trout waters list.
The Blackleggs Trout Nursery was one of the first cooperative
nurseries in southwestern Pennsylvania.
rt
lists some of his greatest accomplishments as his help with
the construction of the PFBC Cooperative Trout Nursery, development
of the Blackleggs Creek Watershed Association, construction
of the Kolb AMD Treatment Facility and the Indiana County
Youth Day. Art also belongs to several local organizations
such as the Blackleggs Creek Watershed Association, Saltsburg
Sportsman's Club, Indiana County Youth Day and he is a Pennsylvania
Game Commission Certified Bowhunter Education Instructor.
He also actively maintains a quality deer management program
on a local property. In 1999, he was presented with the Indiana
County Conservation District's Resource Conservationist of
the Year award. He was also nominated for Who's Who in America
in 1998 and for the Governor's Award for Environmental Excellence
in 2000.
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| Art explaining how the Kolb AMD Treatment
Facility was designed and constructed to federal and state
legislators as well as community members at
the media day. |
 any
people wonder why Art puts in the time that he does. For him
it is simple. "I look at my grandson and think about
the day that he can take his son fishing on Blacklegs Creek.
I don't do what I do for the recognition or the awards. I
do it for the kids. I want my grandchildren to be able to
tell their kids that the reason they can fish on the entire
length of Blacklegs Creek is because of the work that their
great grandfather did."
More information:
For more information about Art and the Blackleggs Watershed
Association, check out their website at: www.blackleggs.org |
Favorite
Water Activity: Fishing