SMETHPORT — The McKean County Conservation District will be using a $200,000 grant to benefit aquatic species in the Upper Allegheny Watershed.

On Tuesday, district officials announced the receipt of a grant from the Central Appalachia Habitat Stewardship Program. The funding will benefit aquatic species by assessing and modifying road stream crossings and dirt and gravel roads in McKean County.

The stream crossing and dirt and gravel roads will be assessed using Environmentally Sensitive Maintenance principles to identify high priority projects that will reduce stream sedimentation and improve aquatic connectivity and habitat for eastern brook trout, eastern hellbenders and freshwater mussels and their host fish species.

This project will correct three fish barriers, open eight miles of stream and improve five miles of road in the Upper Allegheny watershed.

The Central Appalachia Habitat Stewardship Program was established in 2017 and invests in on-the-ground restoration and planning to restore the quality of forest and freshwater habitats in the Central Appalachian-Allegheny Plateau landscape, including the Appalachian regions of New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Maryland, West Virginia and Virginia.