Buffalo Creek in running for Pennsylvania River of the Year

Buffalo Creek in Butler County is in third place in online voting being conducted to identify the Pennsylvania River of the Year.

State residents have until Jan. 17 to cast their vote at the Pennsylvania Organization for Watersheds and Rivers website. The group that nominated the winning river will receive a $10,000 grant from the state Department of Conservation and Natural Resources to fund yearround activities to celebrate the honor.

As of Jan. 2, more than 8,500 people had voted for the 2020 Pennsylvania River of the Year. Lackawanna River in the northeastern part of the state was leading with 34.3% of the votes, according to DCNR. Brandywine Creek in southeastern Pennsylvania and northern Delaware was second with 22.9% of the votes cast, while Buffalo Creek had 21.5% of votes. Other finalists include Connoquenessing Creek in Beaver, Butler and Lawrence counties, which had collected 15.7% of the votes; and the Ohio River, which had 5.6% of the votes.

The Audubon Society of Western Pennsylvania would receive the money on behalf of Buffalo Creek because it nominated the waterway, while the Ohio River Trail Council, Friends of the Riverfront and RiverWise nominated the Ohio River.