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Wildlands Conservancy Contact: Environmental Results: 40-foot-wide, low-head, run-of-the-river dam removed from Little Lehigh Creek and 11,000 square-foot riparian buffer zone planted with more than 1,000 native trees, shrubs and herbaceous plants. 160 feet of gabion baskets removed, 500 feet of streambank stabilized and 2,300 native trees and shrubs planted as a riparian buffer on Monocacy Creek. 3,925 acres of green space protected and preserved. |
Assessment & Planning Creek by Creek, Protecting the Lehigh River Watershed
Planning and assessment are at the core of the conservancy's watershed protection activities. The Lehigh River watershed, encompassing more than 1,300 square miles and reaching across nine counties, is one of the organization's principle projects. Over the last year, the conservancy has completed two comprehensive watershed assessments and begun work on an assessment of the entire Lehigh River watershed. The Jordan Creek project cataloged the biological, ecological, cultural, recreational and historic resources in the 83 square-mile watershed. Members conducted water quality analyses at 19 monitoring points and macroinvertebrate sampling at another six sites. The project also included a 32-mile streamwalk using Global Positioning System (GPS) technology and the development of a comprehensive GIS database for the watershed. Jordan Creek is listed on the Pennsylvania Rivers Registry. The Lehigh River project analyzed flow and water quality of eight abandoned mine discharges on four major tributaries of the Lehigh River and initiated a wetland restoration project to remediate acid mine discharge from Lausanne Tunnel. The Monocacy Creek project identified the resources in the Monocacy Creek watershed and outlined specific recommendations to protect and enhance them, in addition to listing Monocacy Creek on the Pennsylvania Rivers Registry. " With the completion of watershed management
plans, Wildlands Conservancy has developed a blueprint for future projects
and funding. This blueprint will be used by the conservancy and its broad-based
partnerships to preserve, protect and enhance the water resources of the
Lehigh River watershed." |
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Copyright © 2001, Environmental Fund for Pennsylvania
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