Little Lehigh Creek

The Little Lehigh Creek is a limestone stream, a tributary of the Lehigh River and a source of drinking water for the City of Allentown.  The Little Lehigh Creek is listed as an impaired stream in the Pennsylvania “2004 Integrated List of All Waters” (formerly the Section 303d Report), with agriculture/siltation identified as the source/cause of impairment.  Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection’s Chapter 93 Water Quality Standards designates Little Lehigh Creek as “High Quality, Cold-Water Fishery.”   

The Little Lehigh Creek contains a naturally reproducing population of brown trout, and is highly valued for its angling and other recreational opportunities.  The Little Lehigh Creek is included on the PA Fish and Boat Commission’s list of “Wild Trout Waters” in Pennsylvania.

The Little Lehigh Creek originates in Longswamp Township, Berks County traveling approximately 24 miles as it travels through Lehigh County in Lower Macungie and Salisbury Townships and the City of Allentown before making its confluence with the Lehigh River. Approximately 88.8 square miles of the drainage basin are located in Lehigh County , while 18.7 square miles is located in Berks County.  The predominant land uses in the watershed are agricultural and residential development, followed closely by commercial use and urban development.   

Wildlands Conservancy is a not-for-profit 501(c) 3, member-supported organization established in 1973.  Wildlands Conservancy is dedicated to land preservation, river conservation, greenway and trail development, and environmental stewardship through education.  The organization’s mission is to preserve, protect, and enhance the land, water, biological, and recreational resources of the Lehigh Valley and the Lehigh River watershed, and to ensure a “quality of place” through education, land preservation, watershed planning, environmental restoration, and trail development.  In our 33 years of conservation activities, the Conservancy has preserved more than 43,500 acres of open space, instructed more than 300,000 students and adults, developed and maintained trail systems, and developed and implemented several watershed-management plans.  Wildlands has a staff of 18 professionals. 

Brief Project Description of Coldwater Conservation Plan:

Wildlands Conservancy will partner with a team of trained volunteers from Little Lehigh Trout Unlimited to conduct a stream walk and collect a series of photographs in order to document stream and riparian habitat conditions along the Little Lehigh Creek throughout its length, and to identify site specific problems, impacts and protection/enhancement opportunities.  A complete photographic record, with extensive field notes, will be compiled based upon an adapted version of the EPA “Rapid Bio-Assessment Protocols”.  A series of habitat related parameters will be evaluated, including, but not limited to, available cover, sediment deposition, channel alteration, stream bank stability, stream bank vegetative protection and riparian zone width.  Field notes will be compiled and used to develop a series of site-specific recommendations that will identify specific opportunities to implement Best Management Practices, including but not limited to the establishment of riparian buffers.  Assessment site location information, observations and recommendations will be linked to a GIS map showing current surrounding land use and other important features.  Information collected and recommendations developed during the assessment will be used by stakeholders as a tool, in conjunction with other existing Little Lehigh Creek watershed studies, to identify site specific stream and riparian corridor enhancement/protection opportunities.  The project will also provide opportunities for public participation through a series of public informational meetings, and will build additional community awareness and support for future watershed conservation efforts.  Additional partners in this project include the City of Allentown , the Lehigh County Conservation District and the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission. 

Contact Information:

Brian J. Vadino

Director of Rivers Program

Wildlands Conservancy

3701 Orchid Place

Emmaus,  PA 18049

610-965-4397 x 25

Email: bvadino@wildlandspa.org

Website: www.wildlandspa.org