Summer means different things to different people. For some, it’s a break from school. Others think of a vacation at a lake or ocean side beach. For many of the Watershed Specialists in our area, summer means construction of in stream habitat devices.
The winter is spent selecting sites and designing projects. Landowners are contacted, agreements are signed, and partners lined up.
Spring is when contractors are lined up and any baseline sampling work is done. The photo to the right, Bob and Dianne work on a bug count at the Wilson Creek site. The numbers from this bug count will be compared to future counts done at the same site to help measure the project’s effectiveness in creating habitat.
Summer is when the plans are put in action and work takes place. To the left is a “finished product” from this week’s construction on Wilson Creek. There’s a log vane deflector sticking out from the bank, and jute mat holding the stream bank until the seed takes off and plant material fills back in.
Are you interested in learning more about how these stream restoration projects work? Join NPC, the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission, Northumberland County Conservation District, Little Shamokin Creek Watershed Association, and Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection during our July Field Days! Learn more at NPC’s website.