Watershed Group Wins 'Friend of the Lehigh' Award

A Lower Saucon Township-based environmental group has been awarded one of the Wildlands Conservancy's "Friend of the Lehigh" awards, in recognition of its "commitment to preserving, protecting, restoring, and enhancing the Lehigh River and its watershed," a press release from conservancy president Christopher M. Kocher indicated.

"The Saucon Creek Watershed Association (SCWA) is an all-volunteer, community organization working to protect and preserve local land and water resources through science, outreach and advocacy," the release stated. "They are stalwart stewards of a 58-square-mile reach of the Pennsylvania Highlands and stream valleys and hills in the lower Lehigh River Basin."

The award was presented June 24, during the closing ceremony of the Wildlands Conservancy's 17th Annual Lehigh River Sojourn at the Pool Wildlife Sanctuary.

The watershed association was nominated for the award by Northampton County Conservation District Watershed Specialist Jim Wilson, who highlighted the fact that "SCWA has been a lead organizational partner in all five Lehigh Valley Watershed Conferences, including last year’s conference at Lehigh University" in his letter of nomination.

Other projects the association's members have committed themselves to include:

• The enhancement of riparian buffers to help reduce stream bank erosion along Polk Valley Run and Saucon Creek.
• A full visual assessment of 41 miles of streams in the watershed.
• Educational outreach, via programs such as rain barrel workshops.
• Stream cleanups.
• Partnerships with local public schools, libraries, municipalities, conservation and recreation organizations, and commercial businesses.