FEBRUARY 2023
STREAMLINES: News and events from BWA
BWA Installs Water Data Monitor on Pocono Creek
Earlier this month, the Brodhead Watershed Association in partnership with the Stroud Water Research Center installed a continuous data logger on Pocono Creek. The logger, called a 'Mayfly', uses a cellular connection to transmit temperature, depth, and conductivity data directly from its sensor in the water. Data is transmitted every 5 minutes and can be viewed anytime on Monitormywatershed.org.

Pocono Creek is designated as Special Protection by the PA DEP; and a designated Class A wild trout stream by the PA Fish and Boat Commission. Mayfly cellular data loggers like this one will help to provide researchers with what is known as “baseline data”; 365 days a year, 24/7.

Numerous commercial and industrial land development projects are currently proposed upstream in Pocono Township. Some projects will begin earth disturbance this year. Now "baseline" parameters are being continuously recorded to help better understand impacts to water quality from upstream land use changes over time.
A "CTD" underwater sensor is placed in Pocono Creek.
Volunteers set up the monitoring station.
News from Partners
Pocono Heritage Land Trust has recently completed National Fish & Wildlife grant project to improve habitat on four local creeks including the Pocono and Brodhead.

The work at Pocono Creek entailed rebuilding the access road and stabilizing the stream bank after damage from hurricanes in 2020 and 2021.  This work:

  • Prevents bank erosion, and reduces downstream effects of sedimentation 
  • Maintains the channelized flow
  • Enhancement of habitat for Trout and macroinvertebrates

Visit PHLT's site to learn more about the Pocono Creek Nature Preserve.
Above. On Pocono Ck., the recently finished stream bank stabilization project. 
Below. "Rock Vane" installation, Brodhead Ck.
Community Spotlight - Save the Dates
Thu, Feb 23rd, 7PM. Conditional Use Hearing Part 2
Paradise Township Supervisors hold a conditional use hearing on stormwater and sewage aspects of "Hawthorne Mount Pocono Resort". A proposed commercial short term rental project in the Exceptional Value (EV) Swiftwater Creek Watershed.
-Click HERE to view the plans.
Where: Pocono Mountain East High School Auditorium, located at 231 Pocono Mountain School Road, Swiftwater, PA.
Sat March 4th & Sat March 11th, 10AM-2PM
Kettle Creek Environmental Education Center: Maple Sugaring
 Learn how to 'tap' a maple tree to obtain sap, and watch as we demonstrate how to cook the sap until it is sweet maple syrup.
Please call the KCCEEC to pre-register:  570-629-3061.
Sat, March 11th, 10AM
Trout Unlimited: Advocacy 101 Workshop
Pocono Mtn. Library, Tobyhanna
Join professional advocacy staff from Trout Unlimited and other organizations for an introduction to grassroot tactics and tools you can use to conserve and protect water quality in Pennsylvania and beyond.
Click HERE for more info and to register.

Thank You, Michelle
BWA Development Associate Michelle Riley announced that she will be moving onto a new adventure at the end of January, in order to accept a position closer to her new home. Michelle's efforts over the past four years have been impressive; helping to raise critical support towards BWA's clean water mission. Many of our members have had the pleasure of working with Michelle, so we asked her if she would bid us farewell in her own words:


Dear BWA Members & Friends, 

It has been a true pleasure to be able to work with the BWA Board of Directors, as well as with our dedicated members, friends and volunteers over the last four years. One constant that held steady through the worldwide turmoil - local dedication to clean water and the ecological treasure that is the Brodhead Watershed. I am grateful to have had the opportunity to work toward protecting and advocating for the pure creeks and streams that flow through the background of daily life in the watershed. Monroe County is fortunate to have residents such as yourselves who truly understand the value of this unique region. 

As I move on to a new chapter in my career, I intend to remain a BWA member and continue to support this important mission right alongside all of you. Educating your neighbors and municipal officials about the value of pure water, and the role that intact forested land has in keeping the watershed healthy, is one of the most important ways you can help to propel the BWA mission forward and protect the future of the Brodhead Watershed. 

"Plans to protect air and water, wilderness and wildlife are in fact
plans to protect man.” 
- Stewart L. Udall

I hope to see you at the upcoming Native Plant Sale pick up day, or at a Get Outdoors Poconos hike in the near future! Thank you! 

Is Clean Water Your Valentine?
Who is this for?
  • Those who have a strong desire to make a positive difference in their communities.
  • Those who have a keen interest in the environment.

There are openings available for the 2023 Master Watershed Steward training.

A short video about the MWS program can be viewed HERE.

An on-line application can be found and filled out HERE.
Do you have a deep love of water, wildlife, and woods? Do you enjoy learning about the environment and being outdoors? Is it important to you that we preserve our waterways and natural areas for future generations?

The Penn State Extension Master Watershed Steward (MWS) program educates and empowers volunteers to do watershed projects and education in their communities.
To register, email or call by FEB 24th:

Monroe County Master Watershed Steward Coordinator
(570) 421-6430 or (570) 992-5125

Thank you for your interest in the program!

Unique Ecosystems of the Poconos: Glacial Bog
BWA board member Brittney Coleman, an environmental educator:

Living in the Poconos, we are fortunate that our varied landscape provides a slew of fascinating habitats to explore.  
Above: The Tannersville Cranberry Bog is a unique ecosystem in the Watershed.
Perhaps the most impressive and impactful phenomenon that’s occurred on the Poconos landscape has been glaciation – the formation and movement of glaciers over the surface of the earth. Glaciers shape the landscape through the processes of erosion, weathering, transportation and deposition, which creates distinct landforms. One of the most interesting habitats created by glaciers are glacial bogs.

Glacial bogs are unique habitats that are formed when glaciers melt and leave behind sediment, peat moss, and other organic materials that accumulate in wet depressions. These special wetlands, millennia in the making, are characterized by their low nutrient content, acidic water, and unique wildlife.  

Continue reading, HERE.




Left: Mid-Winter Cranberry fruits in a bog.
PROTECTING CLEAN WATER TOGETHER
Where Does Your Water Come From?

Private wells don’t tap into an underground river or rock-lined reservoir that is yours and yours alone. Most wells in the Brodhead watershed are drilled down to below the water table, where layers of rock, soil, sand, and sediments are saturated with water. This porous, watery, underground rock
is what people mean by “the aquifer” — shared by thousands of people.

Read the entire feature HERE.
NATURE AT RISK: NORTHERN LEOPARD FROGS
Northern leopard frogs used to be common from most of Canada through the colder parts of the U.S. Just since the 1960s, they’ve been almost entirely wiped out in their western ranges by invasive predators, introduced diseases and pesticides, plus humans and climate change wrecking their habitat.

You can read the entire feature HERE.
Outdoor Pennsylvania Photo Contest!
Submit your favorite local nature photos to Pocono Heritage Land Trust's second annual Outdoor Pennsylvania amateur photo contest!

Fifteen winners will be selected to display their work in the gallery at the Brodhead Creek Heritage Center in East Stroudsburg, with an opening reception in early April.

Contest ends Tuesday, February 28th at 11:59PM. Winners will be announced in March. Contact info@phlt.org with any questions or concerns.
"Confluence on the Pocono Plateau"

BWA's Get Outdoors Pocono's Series is supported by a grant from the William Penn Foundation.