An exhaustive mouth-to-headwaters visual assessment of the Little Lehigh Creek will be unveiled at a public meeting on September 12 at the Wildlands Conservancy Pool Wildlife Sanctuary in Emmaus.

The Little Lehigh Creek serves as a drinking water source for the City of Allentown and is a tributary to the Lehigh River. The assessment was just been completed by the Wildlands Conservancy and Lehigh County Conservation District in conjunction with the Little Lehigh Trout Unlimited and Saucon Creek Watershed Association.

Volunteers walked along the creekside, strapped on waders and floated in kayaks to assess the entire mainstem of the Little Lehigh Creek for habitat quality.

The results demonstrate that while portions of the Little Lehigh Creek are in excellent condition and are being well managed by landowners, there are other areas that could clearly benefit from future restoration efforts.

Wildlands Conservancy and Little Lehigh Trout Unlimited received a grant from the Coldwater Heritage Partnership in 2006 to develop a Coldwater Heritage Conservation Plan for the Little Lehigh Creek.

To complete the Plan, Lehigh County Conservation District and Wildlands Conservancy staff, and volunteers from the Saucon Creek Watershed Association and the Little Lehigh Chapter of Trout Unlimited, collected a series of photographs and recorded scores and observations regarding various stream and stream corridor conditions, such as the degree of stream bank erosion occurring, the extent of vegetative buffers growing along the stream and the quality of existing habitat for aquatic organisms.

After assessing the creek, staff from the Lehigh County Conservation District compiled assessment score results and photographs using innovative GIS mapping software. This information, along with additional background information and historic biological data, will be used in combination with other existing watershed studies to identify site specific opportunities to preserve and protect the stream.

“The landowners that we met as we assessed the creek were very interested in this project,” explained Dani-Ella Betz, Rivers Conservationist with Wildlands Conservancy. “They see first-hand how powerful this stream can be and are concerned for the future. They have realized on their own the importance of allowing for the growth of native vegetation along the stream if they want to help reduce stream bank erosion,” she added.

The photos, observations and recommendations gathered will be unveiled during a meeting. The public is encouraged to attend to help ensure scenic character and safe drinking water quality for future generations and to continue providing excellent recreational opportunities for anglers, kayakers, and canoeists.

During the meeting, the draft Plan will be presented and an opportunity will be given for attendees to ask questions and provide input for the final Plan.

The presentation will be held at 7:00 p.m. in Wildlands Conservancy’s Environmental Enrichment Education Center at Pool Wildlife Sanctuary, 3701 Orchid Place Road in Emmaus.

To attend, please RSVP to Dani-Ella Betz by sending email to: dbetz@wildlandspa.org or calling 610-965-4397 x19 by September 10.

8/31/2007