A local Lehigh Valley nature preserve was awarded a state grant to restore 2.3 miles of Easton’s Bushkill Creek, kicking off a new phase in the ongoing transformation of the historic waterway.
The nature preserve, Wildlands Conservancy Inc., received the $185,000 grant from the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation.
According to a written statement from Northampton County Rep. Robert Freeman, work on the creek will include “dam removal; streambank stabilization; installation of riparian forest buffer; and landscaping, project sign and other related site improvements.”
The creek has become a living laboratory for faculty and students as they have closely monitored the creek’s evolution throughout the restoration process.
“The Bushkill Creek has been a focus of study for decades because it presents such a great opportunity,” said Dru Germanoski, a geology and environmental science professor.
Germanoski also noted that the project has created opportunities for interdepartmental collaboration, with geology students, environmental science students and engineers working jointly on research.
“We’ve involved over 50 students as direct research students on these projects dating back to 2013,” he continued.
The grant builds upon previous restoration funding of $741,000, which supported the removal of three historic mill dams. The funds originated from settlement money after approximately 100 million gallons of fly ash spilled from a coal-fired power plant into the Delaware River in 2005.
Sydney Putera ‘25, a student researcher who monitored the creek’s response to dam removal, witnessed the gradual transformation firsthand.
“It comes full circle,” she said. “Three dams in the process of removal, this was three years ago now before I was a geology major, and I remember thinking, ‘This is so cool.’”
According to civil and environmental professor David Brandes, Lafayette College is looking at new possibilities for the restored area.
“Historically, the stream has not really been viewed as much of an asset to the college,” Brandes said. “I’d love to see it redeveloped and have it be a really cool gathering space. Having places like that is important.”
The restoration work has already shown promising results as the creek begins to return to its natural state. As Germanoski noted, the stream can now “return to a more normal natural morphology and function.”
Beyond physical improvements, the grant will support efforts to enhance wildlife habitats. The removal of dams has already made it possible for fish from the Delaware River to move freely upstream, according to Germanoski.
“Fish like shad and trout that live in the Delaware River would naturally swim and migrate up into the Bushkill to reproduce. They’ll be able to do that now,” Germanoski said.
“There’s a lot of research that shows that green space and blue space, like being next to water, is really good for mental health,” Brandes said. “Not just for research students, but for anybody who wants to go find a nice, chill place to be away from the hubbub and stress of everything.”