Wildlands Conservancy & Partners Celebrate Success of Bushkill Creek Stream Restoration

*Please Note: This presss release was issued by Wildlands Conservancy on October 15, 2024.

Contact: Megan Sciarrino, Director of Communications, [email protected]; 610-965-4397 ext. 116

Wildlands Conservancy & Partners Celebrate Success of Bushkill Creek Stream Restoration

Emmaus, Pa. (Tuesday, October 15, 2024) - Wildlands Conservancy, the premier nonprofit land trust of the Lehigh Valley and Lehigh River watershed, together with project partners, funders, and community volunteers, celebrated the yearslong stream restoration of the Bushkill Creek and its success to date. The celebration took place at the Lafayette College dam removal site along the Karl Stirner Arts Trail in Easton. The event included a volunteer wildflower planting to complete restoration at this project site.

"This yearslong effort is a win for clean water for all the communities living in connection with the Bushkill Creek," says Christopher Kocher, president of Wildlands Conservancy. "It's a wonderful example of the power of partnerships, and what community can do for community when nonprofits, local government, and state and federal agencies pool ideas resources to invest our treasured, natural areas."

The Bushkill Creek begins at the foot of Blue Mountain in Bushkill Township and flows approximately 22 miles south to its confluence with the Delaware River. The waterway is a defining, natural feature of the Lehigh Valley, its designated as a high quality coldwater fishery, and its restoration is vital for the more than 14 million people who get their drinking water from the Delaware River Basin.

The Bushkill has benefitted from the attention of local watershed groups and concerned citizens over the years, including the Lafayette academic community that has brought an interdisciplinary approach to the project, convening faculty and students engaged in biology, geography, engineering, and economics.

"Lafayette College has been proud to work alongside Wildlands Conservancy and so many dedicated people from our partner agencies to help restore and improve the Bushkill Creek," says Nicole Hurd, president of Lafayette College. "The Bushkill Creek is our neighbor and part of our Lafayette home, our natural boundary between campus and the city of Easton," she adds. "Our students enjoy studying and recreating along its peaceful banks. Taking care of it for future generations is part of our environmental stewardship and our nearly 200-year tradition of giving back to the larger community."

Wildlands has been convening partners to advance this large-scale restoration, and since 2021 has restored over 3 miles of stream along the Bushkill through dam removal and habitat restoration. Wildlands oversaw the removal of a series of five dams (see map), the last of which was removed this summer in the City of Easton. These dam removals helped open the Bushkill Creek to fish passage, reconnecting the waterway to the Delaware and into the Atlantic Ocean for the first time in 200 years.

"It is fantastic to see the lower Bushkill Creek free-flowing and fully integrated with the Delaware River once again," says Lafayette College Professor Dr. Dru Germanoski.

These restoration efforts are improving the Bushkill Creek for community recreation value, suitability for native fish populations, as well as freshwater mussel communities that play a critical role in removing bacteria, algae, and other contaminants. These efforts were advanced under the administration of the Delaware River Basin Commission.

"The DRBC advises the Natural Resources Damage Assessment Team created after a 2005 fly ash spill in the region, helping choose and guide the restoration plan that implemented these dam removals on the Bushkill," says DRBC Executive Director Steve Tambini. "We were pleased to contract Wildlands Conservancy to do this work and are proud of the successes already seen, including improved water quality and habitat and more opportunities for safe community recreation around our shared waters."

Wildlands acknowledges the support of its giving community and funding from National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, Northampton County, Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, and it recognizes the following project partners: American Rivers, Bushkill Stream Conservancy, City of Easton, Delaware River Basin Commission, Delaware River Shad Fisherman's Association, Forks of the Delaware Trout Unlimited, Karl Stirner Arts Trail, Lafayette College, Pennsylvania Department of Transportation, Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission, and UGI.

"Wildlands Conservancy's restoration of the Bushkill Creek to date is a crucial step in improving water quality, restoring key wildlife habitats, and addressing development pressures in this largely pristine watershed. Since 2018, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's Delaware Watershed Conservation Fund has provided $1.5 million in support, and this project exemplifies the broader environmental progress we strive for across the Delaware River watershed," said Christina Ryder, Delaware River Basin Restoration Program Manager, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

Click here for images of the celebration and wildflower planting.

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