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Reclaiming Ohi:yo'- Restoring the Altered Landscape of the Beautiful River Ohi:yo' Restoration and Resiliency Projects Members of the Seneca Nation's Watershed Resources Working Group are involved in various restoration and resiliency projects for our Ohi:yo'. The Seneca Nation's Fish and Wildlife Department in particular engages in projects related to building artificial habitat, repopulating our river's Walleye population, and building trenches to help land locked fish. Fighting for the Water: Fracking Wastewater in Ohi:yo' In 2016 the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (PA DEP) began deliberating a 1,000-barrel/day of unconventional gas drilling wastewater (Frack Wastewater) disposal facility in Potter County proposed by Epiphany Allegheny LLC. In response to the news of these fracking plans, our Seneca people again fought for our people, our communities, and our Ohi:yo'.

Ohi:yo'

For millennia, Ohi:yo' flowed freely, providing life to a thriving ecosystem and to our Seneca people.The Seneca people have had a long relationship with Ohi:yo'. In our language, Ohi:yo' means "Beautiful River" or "Good River".

The river was an ideal habitat for a variety of marine life that we consider culturally important. Plants we know are good for medicine grew along its borders. We built our communities and way of life around Ohi:yo'.

Today our Seneca people still live and have a relationship with Ohi:yo'. Ohi:yo' is at the heart of our Allegany Territory.

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The Threat of Blue-Green Algae One of the negative environmental effects of the inundation of Ohi:yo' has been the increasing occurrence of harmful algal blooms (HABs) throughout the Allegheny Reservoir. HABs are comprised of cyanobacteria, blue-green algae, that may negatively affect our people's health as well as have negative ecological and biogeochemical impacts.

Blue-green algae is naturally occurring in lakes and streams, and not all cyanobacteria produce toxins. The toxins produced by blue-green algae is referred to as cyanotoxins and vary by species of cyanobacteria.

HABs with or without toxin production can have negative ecological, biogeochemical, and health impacts, and are becoming an increasingly worldwide problem. HABs can be reservoir wide and can be found accumulating along shorelines and downwind bays.

According to the Watershed Resources Working Group, a Seneca Nation technical advisory board, HABs were first recorded in Ohi:yo' in 1972 and today have increasingly been more severe and frequent.

Blue-Green Algae: What is it?
Cyanobacteria are a form of microscopic blue-green algae. The rapid growth of the cyanobacteria is called a "bloom". Blooms of cyanobacteria can be found in warm, nutrient-rich, shallow water or distributed throughout the water column. The Allegany Reservoir has a combination of nutrient pollution from the drainage basin upstream and the contribution of nutrients from sediment and algal detritus that has deposited in the reservoir since impoundment producing very favorable conditions for HABs.

Blooms can produce floating scum on the surface of the water, particularly along shorelines, that is blue or green in color and is reminiscent of paint spills. HABs within the Allegheny Reservoir are monitored along the shorelines of bays and inlets of the reservoir by the Watershed Resources Working Group.

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Ohi:yo'