Lehigh Valley Watershed Flow

What is happening in conservation in the Lehigh Valley as of September 6th, 2023

Want to know what is going on in the watershed world this month? check out the Lehigh valley watershed flow!

Upcoming Events and Current Happenings to Share

Bushkill Stream Conservancy *

  • August 20- We did a walk and talk at Graver Arboretum
  • October 1- Tabling at the Tatamy Car show
  • October 14- Tabling at the Northampton County Festival

Cook’s Creek Watershed Association *

  • Fall potluck is October 7 (Springtown Rod and Gun Club).
  • Durham Day is October 14
  • Walk in Penns Woods is October 1 (Durham Bat Cave).
  • Planning their 50th anniversary festival The Cooks Creek Watershed Association is marking its 50th anniversary in 2024.  To celebrate this milestone, and the beautiful area we live in, the CCWA will be hosting the Upper Bucks River Festival from 10-4 on Saturday July 13, 2024 at the Silver Creek Athletic Association in Springtown.  We will have booths representing local and regional environmental, educational and outdoor organizations, lots of fun activities, inspiring speakers, along with local music and food.  It is our hope that you can join us for the celebration and perhaps consider joining one of the fine organizations present and stand up for your environment! 

Monocacy Creek Watershed Association *

  • On Wednesday, September 20, a group of 15 to 20 Moravian University students will be volunteering as a part of their Founders Day celebration that week. They will be working on installing deer protection, planting native perennials and helping with storm debris removal along the new trail at Gertrude Fox Conservation Area.
  • Monocacy Park Day will be on Saturday, September 23, from 10 am to 1 pm at Illick’s Mill. MCWA board members and friends will be celebrating 52 years of preservation and protection Monocacy Creek. Family-friendly activities include fly-fishing demos, creating bee houses and toad shelters, identifying creek critters, and a native perennial plant sale. Limited parking across

from the Mill or lots more up at the Memorial Pool parking lot on Illick’s Mill Road.

Fry’s Run Watershed Association *

  • Fry’s Run Family Fun Day September 16th 10 am – 2 pm @ Fry’s Run Park (flyer below)
    • Kids story hour
    • Fly tying presentation
    • Bee demonstration
    • Art activity
  • Macroinvertebrate sampling set for September 26th at 9:30 am
  • Working with the Township and other local organizations on the Lower Delaware Wild and Scenic Recreation designation
  • Adopt a Highway November 4th, 9:00 am

Bertsch Hokendauqua Catasauqua Watershed Association *

  • Community Day at Wayne Grube Park September 24th 10-2. 
  • Ongoing pussy willow buffer work (hemlock and hops removal, general upkeep). 
  • Walnutport grant work (cutting done, spraying done, fall/spring plantings upcoming).

Saucon Creek Watershed Association *

Recent SCWA events:

  • Native plant/ Rain barrel sale at Hellertown’s Community Day

Upcoming:

  •  Native plant/Rain Barrel sale at Saucon Valley Farmers’ Market, 10 Sept.
  • Tree planting on the Rail Trail.  Time TBD. 

Penn State Water Resources and Lehigh Valley MWS Program 

Recent Activities

  • 6/10 – Lehigh Gap Nature Center Field Trip 
  • 6/13-6/16 – Future Master Watershed Steward Program at Jacobsburg 
  • 6/20-6/23 – Delaware River Sojourn – Penn State Sponsored Programming 
  • 6/27-6/29 – Department of Health, Youth Drinking Water Program Pilot Project
  • 7/19 & 7/26 – WPSU/PBS Dr. Watt R. Shedd Broadcast Filming
  • 7/20 – TapTalk: Lehigh River a Most Endangered River by American Rivers
  • 8/8-8/10 – Ag Progress Days – MWS & Water Resources Outreach 
  • 8/16 – TapTalk: Macungie Jasper Mines and Rising River Brewing BMPs
  • 8/25-8/27 – MWS 10th Anniversary Retreat PA WILDs
  • 8/31 – Private Drinking Water in Pennsylvania, Upper Mt Bethel 

Upcoming Activities

  • 9/14 – Lehigh Valley Business, 40 under 40, MWS Program, Erin Frederick
  • 9/16 – Youth Aquatics and Entomology Field Day 
  • 9/18 – PMAA Rain to Drain and Watershed Decisions Program
  • 9/27 – Ag Conservation Training 
  • 9/27-28 – Dive Deeper Conference 

https://extension.psu.edu/dive-deeper-summit

  • 10/9-11 – NAE4-HYDP PSU Dr. Watt R. Shedd, Rain to Drain, and Watershed Decisions Outreach 
  • 10/12-13 – MWS Tree & Shrub Sale Distribution 
  • 10/29-30 – PEC Watershed Conference MWS and Stream Restoration Outreach 

Aquashicola Pohopoco Watershed Conservancy *

  • The comment period for the Aquashicola stream upgrade petition closes on Friday – please comment – from HQ to EV

Tobyhanna Creek Tunkhannock Creek Watershed Association *

  • Nearly done with the boardwalk – been an intense summer!
  • Working on educational signs for the boardwalk
  • Educational events also upcoming

Little Lehigh Watershed Stewards *

  • They carried out a knotweed removal project in June. 
  • Working on the Salt Monitoring project with Stroud, led by Jennifer Latzgo – they will be putting together a presentation on this later in the fall. They have tested 48 sites for baseline in August. 
  • Fall stream cleanup being planned
  • Considering future educational events:
    • Tree planting or maintenance: Members discussed supporting the August 25 and September 1 tree maintenance dates by Wildlands Conservancy at Trexler Nature
    • Future Grant: possible tree/shrub project to be submitted to the Trexler Trust
    • Educational outreach idea: Linda suggested an outreach to encourage planting backyard butterfly station/habitats due to the decrease in butterflies.

Wildlands Conservancy *

  • Dam #1 on the Bushkill has been removed successfully and the contractor has been working on upstream habitat restoration. Lafayette College has continued their extensive water quality monitoring efforts in the area so we will be excited to see the changes over time.
  • We wrapped up the Little Bushkill Stream Restoration Project in partnership with Plainfield Township. This restored four sites in the Little Bushkill Watershed to stabilize the recreation trail and provide instream habitat.
  • We kicked off a Phase 2 of stream restoration along Fry’s Run immediately upstream from the previous work area. We are currently working with an engineer on draft designs to address erosion and flooding and improve riparian habitat.
  • We have been having a lot of success with our weekly Stream Team volunteer event series. We have been able to tackle many invasive species and maintenance concerns at our past planting sites.
  • We have 6 plantings in the Lehigh Valley (and one in Carbon County) scheduled for this fall to restore about 8 acres of riparian habitat.

Northampton County Parks *

Recent accomplishments:

  • Contracted spraying about 2 acres of Phragmites in the waters of Minsi Lake in early August.
  • Completed Aquatic Invasive Species Educational Outreach Project with Friends of Minsi Lake here: https://ncjcs.org/aquatic-invasive-species/.
  • Completed spraying knotweed at Minsi Lake Park & Totts Gap Conservation Area.
  • Repaired the windmill at Louise Moore Park & got it working again for the 1st time in many years. Plan is for it to pump water into two naturalized basins to create shallow emergent wetlands.
  • Wrapped up 4th year of Purple Martin nesting season at Minsi Lake: 185 eggs laid, 82 chicks hatched, 73 chicks banded, 70 chicks successfully fledged. 4 Year Stats: 405 eggs laid, 206 chicks hatched, 195 chicks banded, 188 chicks banded.
  • ·Removed, cleaned & stored indoors for the winter, 72 Purple Martin nesting gourds from four gourd towers at Louise Moore & Minsi Lake Parks—each tower supports 18 gourds.
  • Salvaged about 100 trees & shrubs along Little Bushkill Creek at Gall Farm Preserve that were flattened by recent floodwaters. They were planted two years ago to expand the riparian buffer at the preserve.
  • Completed grassland bird point counts at Totts Gap Meadows for Year 1. Will repeat again next nesting season. Part of Totts Gap Grassland Birds Conservation Project—see last bullet under Plans below. And see this re: point counts: https://www.pwrc.usgs.gov/bbs/participate/training/13.html.

Plans:

  • One more herbicide treatment this year of the 7-acre hay field at Louise Moore Park followed by a full season next year before seeding it as a pollinator meadow next fall.
  • Need to spray knotweed at Fry’s Run & Monocacy Meadow Parks & Frost Hollow Overlook this month—were all cut in late spring.
  • Continue grassland bird point counts at Totts Gap Meadows next year.
  • Cut down trees & shrubs along nearly 2000 linear feet of stone rows in 3 meadows at Totts Gap Conservation Area in order to expand nesting habitat for Bobolinks & Eastern Meadowlarks. Working with The Nature Conservancy for approval—they hold a conservation easement on the land.

Events:

  • 4th Annual Northampton County Festival at Louise Moore Park on 10/14.
  • Live Bats at Louise Moore Park, Pavilion 5 at 5:30pm on 10/20.

Neshaminy Creek Watershed Association *

  • NWA in partnership with Warwick Township, MWS and some corporate entities will be implementing a Tiny Forest (1000 trees in Tennis Court sized area) at Pollinator Park.
  • Pollinator Park (neshaminy-watershed.org)