CONFLUENCE, Pa. - Fifteen years after acid-mine drainage from a catacomb of abandoned mines near Meyersdale triggered a major fish kill on the Casselman River, an ongoing cleanup is creating significant opportunities downstream.

The improvements are partly responsible for the Youghiogheny River being designated last week as the state's River of the Year by the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources.

"What happens in Somerset County clearly affects what happens downstream, including the Yough," said Len Lichvar, director of the Somerset County Conservation District.

The designation recognizes the watershed's shift from a threatened past to a promising recreational future and its role in history.

"While it is recovering ... the Youghiogheny remains fragile and in need of ongoing improvements and protection," DCNR Secretary Michael DiBerardinis said.

The river flows north 132 miles from its origination in Maryland before emptying into the Monongahela River at McKeesport.

The 70-mile section of river in Pennsylvania winds through Somerset, Fayette, Westmoreland and Allegheny counties.

The river is surrounded by towns where George Washington camped during the French and Indian War.

"Now it's being rediscovered by a new breed of travelers - anglers, canoeists and rafters who brave its whitewater, and hikers trekking along the Great Allegheny Passage," DiBerardinis said.

Meanwhile, the Pennsylvania Environmental Council will revive the "Yough River Sojourn," which has not been held for several years.

The sojourn will offer several days of canoeing, whitewater rafting and bicycle riding on the parallel Great Allegheny Passage.