This site requires Javascript to be turned on. Please enable Javascript and reload the page.

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'.

Footnote 4

The Seneca Nation's GIS Department has created a story map of aerial imagery juxtaposing a 1960's pre-Kinzua dam image of Ohi:yo' with a contemporary aerial view of the same location. The map provides a visually striking representation of the reservoir. The map can be viewed here.

This page is referenced by:

Kinzua Dam's Environmental Impacts 39 The creation of Kinzua Dam has had lasting environmental impacts on our land and water. Learn more here. visual_path 782923 2018-09-14T19:58:51-07:00
The Allegheny Reservoir, extending into the greater Western portions of our Allegany Territory, has significantly changed the river's borders and boundaries. The Seneca Nation of Indians Geographic Information Services (GIS) Department has created a story map of aerial imagery of Ohi:yo' that shows the changes to the shoreline of Ohi:yo'.

Kinzua Dam was built by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers between 1960 and 1966. Once it began operations in 1967, Ohi:yo' was only able to move up, spilling past its banks and inundating our land.

For the past five decades portions of Ohi:yo' have operated as a reservoir in the summer months. Come fall of every year, much of the water reserves are lowered at the discretion of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Ohi:yo' now follows a new cycle, forming new shorelines with deadly ecological effects.

The main environmental impacts of Kinzua Dam are:
- Harmful Algal Blooms (HABs)
- Riparian Zone Degradation
- Invasive Plant Species
- Degraded Fish Habitat
- Sedimentation