Lake Erie Access Program
Pennsylvania Sea Grant research revealed that angling on Pennsylvania’s Lake Erie Waters is a $40 Million Annual Economic Input to the region. However, access to the many creeks and streams in the watershed can be limiting for many anglers. In an effort to accommodate the growing number of anglers and improve the quality of the fishery, Pennsylvania Sea Grant manages the Lake Erie Access Program. Through the effort staff work with private and public landowners to allow angler access to waterways in exchange for fair compensation. The program is funded through the Pennsylvania Fish & Boat Commission through the sale of Lake Erie Permits and Trout-Salmon/Lake Erie Combo Permits.
Since 2012, Pennsylvania Sea Grant has secured thirteen fee simple acquisitions, thirty-two public fishing easements, and approximately twenty-miles of Lake Erie and stream frontage, which has been made available for recreation purposes through the program, including,
- Conneaut Creek – 11,255 linear feet (2.13 miles)
- Crooked Creek – 16,350 linear feet (3.10 miles)
- Elk Creek – 45,248 linear feet (8.56 miles)
- Lake Erie – 825 linear feet (.16 mile)
- Walnut Creek – 15,565 linear feet (2.95 miles)
- Fourmile Creek – 6,676 linear feet (1.26 miles)
- Twelvemile Creek – 980 linear feet (.19 miles)
- Twentymile Creek – 6,440 linear feet (1.22 miles)