The original inhabitants pondered over a "river that flows in a contrary direction." George Washington recognized the Youghiogheny's strategic value, and runaway slaves followed it north to freedom. And while the river was never suitable for an extensive lock-and-dam system, its contours became an important commercial route for railroad cars hauling timber and coal harvested from its banks.

Now, after years of sealing mines, restoring riparian habitat and containing residential waste, the Youghiogheny is bouncing back as an important waterway.

Last week, the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources designated the 132-mile waterway its 2008 River of the Year. This time, its importance is based on the river's ascension as a recreational economic magnet.

"For DCNR and a lot of communities along the river [south] of Pittsburgh, the river has turned the corner and become a fabulous resource," said DCNR secretary Michael DiBerardinis. "Businesses are really beginning to spring up in those [Youghiogheny River Trail] towns related to the new usages of the river."

Maryland recognized the river's special value 32 years ago, setting aside 21 miles of the Yough as the state's first Wild and Scenic River in 1976. Tim Palmer, an Oregon-based naturalist originally from Beaver, wrote about the river's struggle to clean up in his 1984 book, "Youghiogheny: Appalachian River."

"My ancestors moved there in the 1700s," he said. "Cucumber Run used to run florescent orange with acid mine drainage and the river was no account for fishing. Over the years, legislators did a reasonably good job of charting the balance between commercial usage and restoration. Now it's a great example of how natural resources can serve everybody really well."

Throughout the Youghiogheny's 70-mile roll through Southwest Pennsylvania, it transforms as a recreation destination from a 2,840-acre smallmouth, muskie, walleye and pike lake to a tailrace trout fishery to a nationally recognized whitewater haven to smallmouth heaven.

With only two dams in the water system (at Ohiopyle and a Maryland tributary blocked to create Deep Creek Lake), the Youghiogheny River is prone to wild shifts in flow that impact angling. But Rilton's Scott Loughner, who presents seminars on Youghiogheny fly-fishing, said the river has always been important to him.

"Even if they didn't designate it a special river, I would still consider it special because it's my home water," he said. "It's a river of many characters with a fast, cold-water fishery on the upper end and warm-water fishing on lower end with a good smallmouth population."

The bottom-release dam at Ohiopyle keeps the water cold enough for state-stocked trout until about Connellsville, said Loughner. Local trout clubs stock the Yough at lower points including West Newton but, "at the lower river from Perryopolis to Boston ... the warmer water is conducive to smallmouth."

Notoriously shallow, the fluctuating water level keeps most bass boats at bay. Anglers in high-speed jet boats rise above the rocks, but Loughner prefers a slower approach.

"All I do is fly fish," he said. "I like to drift the river ... where I can work pools and take my time. Sometimes it's fishing along the bottom in the riffles. If you watch the feeding carp, the smallmouth will follow to get the dislodged crayfish they're stirring up. If the fish are busting baitfish in the summer, it's top-water flies that create a commotion."

Despite its River of the Year designation, Loughner says "the Yough is not without its problems."

Improvements on tributaries such as Sewickley Creek near Lowber have helped the fishing, he said, but mine seepage throughout its length and sewage problems including recent releases at Sutersville continue to present challenges.

"I'm glad [the river] is getting its due," he said, "but people have to recognize they have to protect this resource if they want to keep it."