​Petition Filed to Protect an Exceptional Stream

​On May 4, 2020, Fair Shake Environmental Legal Services filed a Petition to Redesignate Toms Creek on behalf of Friends of Toms Creek, a group dedicated to protecting, preserving, enhancing and restoring the natural, scenic, historic and aesthetic resources within the Toms Creek watershed, an important resource located in Southwest Adams County, Pennsylvania. The Petition requests the Pennsylvania Environmental Quality Board amend regulation and revise the upper Toms Creek basin designation from High Quality to Exceptional Value, affording the stream the protections that the actual existing use for aquatic life requires. 

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Hike & Picnic
Michaux State Forest

A lovely hike with Sierra Club in Michaux State Forest
Pine Hill viewed from a trail in Michaux

Macro Invertebrate Count

Thank you all for helping with our March 29th macro invertebrates count.
SGI PUBLIC HEARING
​SGI public hearing for a discharge permit to Tom’s creek.

​Petition Accepted for Study!

The petition to re-designate Upper Toms Creek from  High Quality to Exceptional Value has been accepted for study by the Environmental Quality Board.

FOTC Receives $5000 Mini-grant from South Mountain Partnership

$5,000 was awarded to the Friends of Toms Creek, to conduct field stream assessments of Toms Run Creek near Fairfield; accepted today by Sue deVeer, on behalf of Friends of Toms Creek and project partners at Upper Potomac River Keeper and Sierra Club.

READ COMMENTS
​July 17th Pubic Hearing

Protect Tom’s Creek From Hazardous Mountaintop Removal

RECENT BIRDSEYE VIEW OF SGI’s CHARMIAN FACILITY
This video speaks volumes about the fate awaiting Pine Hill (which can be seen in the background). It also speaks to the vulnerability of Toms Creek - when you see what has happened to Miney Branch after degradation by SGI.
WHAT ARE THE ISSUES?
Learn more about the issues! Read SGI's response to comments made during the DEP hearing in July. 

PRESS RELEASE
WATCH DEP PUBLIC HEARING 
"Mountaintop removal is as near total destruction as you can imagine, because it does away with the forest, it does away with the topsoil that sustained the forest, it does away with the very topography —even people's family graveyards go. And it's done in complete disregard not only of the land but of the people who live downhill, whose lives are threatened, whose water supplies are destroyed, whose homes are damaged. The people downhill, downstream, and ahead of us in time are totally disregarded." - Wendell Erdman Berry, American novelist, poet, environmental activist, cultural critic, and farmer

SGI's "Non-Coal Surface Mining"

These are drawings that were presented at the Conditional Use Hearing in February 2014 by SGI. A picture is worth a thousand words. What we see here is called "non-coal surface mining."  It is a term of art, since the effect will essentially be the same as mountaintop removal mining.

HIKE     HUNT      FISH
HELP KEEP IT CLEAN
for future generations

Tom's Creek is a vital part of the culture and natural history of the surrounding region.

About Tom's Creek

​Tom's Creek is a pristine trout stream that is located in the headwaters of the Potomac River Watershed. It originates along South Mountain in south central Pennsylvania within Michaux State Forest and flows southward through Adams County to join the Monocacy River in Frederick County, Maryland.

Support FOTC

You can help by volunteering with us, making a contribution, or 
by simply enjoying this pristine natural resource.

Our Vision

  • High quality areas of Tom's Creek must remain high quality
  • Recognize historic significance of Tom's Creek and surrounding area
  • Promote active stewardship by families and communities of Tom's Creek watershed
  • Ensure protection of this important natural and cultural resource - now, and in the perpetuity.