Acknowledgments Original project written and designed by: Ernest Keller Director Lackawanna County Conservation District Riparian Tim Eichner Keystone Graduate Trail improvements provided by: Interpretive Shaun Arbaugh, Andrew Shaffer 1998 Trail Projects Coordinators Additional enhancements were made possible by an Trail Guide additional Growing Greener Grant. Project Director: Professor Howard Jennings Growing Greener Project Coordinator: Tim Eichner Revision of Trail guide: Deanna Haluska 2009 Trail & Guide Revisions by: Samantha Watkins Keystone Graduate Edited by: Nora Dillon, Assistant Director Keystone College Environmental Education Institute

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Conclusion When you return to the Nokomis Suspension Bridge you will have completed Keystone College’s Riparian Trail and Demonstration Project. We hope it has challenged and expanded your thoughts regarding streams, watersheds, and the lands that impact our water. Knowing more about these streamside environments will not only enable you to take appropriate action in your community but to teach others how to respect our earth’s natural resources.

Keystone College Riparian Trail Keystone College Riparian Sponsored in part by the Lackawanna Heritage Valley Authority in partnership with the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources and the National Park Service.

2 51 mighty Susquehanna elcome to the Keystone College Riparian Trail. This 1.5 mile loop trail begins behind the Miller River, the largest W Library, leading you on a streamside interpretive hike contributor to the into mature woods, meadows, and a steep mountain . ravine. This station-numbered guide will help you Research has shown that understand the natural resource functions of streamside or riparian ecology. Maintaining water in the receiving estuaries quality is perhaps the most important natural resource (like Chesapeake Bay) issue facing communities right here at home as well as depends on how well we worldwide. You will learn first-hand the important treat the land in the interface between the management of land and how it watershed. When dirt, impacts the water. Forestry, recreational, agricultural, oil, litter, pesticides, and and urban land uses are also observed during your trek. Keystone College’s beautiful Creek-side Campus nutrients wash off the The Chesapeake includes more than one mile of the South Branch land, they not only Bay Basin Tunkhannock. pollute our local waters, but eventually collect in the Chesapeake Bay. The Estimated time: 1 hour 30 minutes with interpretation. Bay is like a big shallow sink where water 25 minutes total walking time movement is slow and pollution lingers and settles Remember, wear sturdy shoes and stay on the trail. to the bottom. This non-point source pollution has significantly hurt the fish and wildlife resources that were once plentiful in North America’s largest Leave Only Footprints, estuary. Take Only Pictures

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Table of Contents ⇒ Provides shade that moderates water temperatures in the nearby stream. Station # Page # ⇒ Plant roots keep the soil porous so water is 1. Riparian………………………………...……………….7 absorbed which can reducing flooding 2. Forest Succession……………………………………….49 potential. 3. Management & Maintenance of Riparian Areas…....48 ⇒ In-stream food web is enhanced by adding 4. Clean Water Action…………………………………….47 twigs, leaves, fruit seeds, and organic debris to be consumed by insects and bacteria. 5. Greenway……………………………………………....46 ⇒ Birds, mammals, and other animals find food, 6. Steep and Stony Soil…………………………………...45 water, nesting sites, and corridors for moving 7. Ravine, Forces of Nature…………………………...…45 about between areas. 8. ………………………………………………..43 Station 32 9. Ferns Living Near Wetlands…………………………...42 From Here to the 10. Log, Root-wad & Boulder Revetments……………….41 Chesapeake 11. An ……………………………………..40 Locally known as Nokomis Creek, the 12. Riparian Shrubs, Tree Seedlings, & Volunteers ……..38 South Branch of the Tunkhannock Creek collects 13. Soft Armor Stream Bank Repair ...... 37 and transports water to Chesapeake Bay 300 14. Seaman’s Farm Silo……………………………………...36 miles downstream. Moreover, this stream is very 15. Three-Zone Buffer………………………………………34 important to the local residents who use its high 16. Soft versus Hard Armor…………………………………32 quality waters for fishing, swimming, irrigation, and enjoyment. Flowing downstream through the town of Factoryville, the creek ultimately makes its way to Tunkhannock, where it joins the

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Station 31 Table of Contents Riparian Forest Buffer You are standing in a riparian forest buffer Station # Page # separating the developed portion of Keystone 18.Planting & Stabilization…………………….…………...30 College from 18. Canopy Makes a Difference……………………….…..29 Nokomis Creek. 19. Riparian Shrubs…………………………………….…...27 In addition to 20. Urban Stream…………………………….……………..25 many large trees, 21. Framework of Roots……………………..……………..25 the understory contains shrub 22. Bailey Field…………………………….………………..24 and herbaceous 23. Gravel Bar………………………………..……………...23 vegetation that 24. The Amphitheater…………………….………………...21 forms layers from 25. Tree Identification………………………..……………..18 the ground level 26. In-stream Trail…………………………..……………….17 to treetops. This forest buffer serves many 27. Suspension Bridge………………………..……………...16 valuable functions: 28. Ponds and Groundwater…………………..…………...14 ⇒ Traps and filters sediments, therefore, seedlings can grow under the canopy of other forest 29. Stream Ford………………………………..…………….11 trees for a century or more. 30. Eastern Hemlock………………………..……………….10 ⇒ Anchors and protects streambanks with soil- 31. Riparian Forest Buffer………………..……..…………...9 holding roots. 32. From Here to the Chesapeake…………………..……...8 ⇒ Healthy organic forest soils support beneficial microbes that convert and hold nutrients like nitrogen.

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Station 1 that marks most conifers, it Riparian has a feathery airiness with flowing branches, and its All waterways including creeks, streams, top shoot bends gracefully and rivers, are surrounded by land. The with the wind. Young waterway, along with the adjacent land, is known open-grown hemlocks as the riparian zone. A healthy riparian zone have a dense pyramid- provides benefits of high water quality for people Eastern shaped crown with lower and wildlife. Riparian comes from the Latin word Hemlock branches that nearly touch meaning bank or shore, and simply translated, it the ground. Older trees in the forest develop tall relates to those lands along a body of water such shaft-like trunks like the ones you see here. A as the streambank, , and upslope areas, long-lived tree, hemlocks reach maturity at 250 to which vary in width. This area is the vital link 300 years, but they may live much longer! between land and water. Although settlers sometimes used the coarse A buffer is a vegetated area between different reddish brown wood for construction lumber, it areas of that isolates or mitigates the was often cut and stripped of its valuable tannin- rich bark. Logs were left to slowly decay where they were felled. (Tannin, a natural chemical, was used to tan leather, softening and preserving the material). Cool shady ravines and valleys of rushing mountain streams are home to the hemlock. Hemlocks are extremely shade tolerant,

6 47 loving and found exclusively along streams and in negative impacts one might have on the other. swamps. In North America there are four Therefore, riparian buffers serve several important imports, including Weeping Willow from Asia, functions. which now reproduces in the wild, hybridizing Station 2 with our native species. Forest Succession Regardless of size, willows as a group share The Yellow Birches at this station are a distinctive than broad. They are attached young because, until the late 1940s this area was alternately on the twigs. A pair of ear-shaped flooded to form the popular Lake Nokomis. The growths called stipules can be seen at the base of lake was created by a large dam a few hundred the leaves and sometimes are so prominent on feet downstream near the new shoots they often are mistaken for leaves. Yellow Birch present water treatment In addition to producing many tiny seeds, plant. Swimming and reproduction readily occurs by sprouting from fishing were very popular. roots or branches torn from plants following The backwater was deep storms or flooding. This ability to sprout from cut enough to boat at least as stumps or pieces of branch make the willow far back as the especially useful in streamside planting for amphitheater. In the early control. years of the Academy the Station 30 “boating club” Eastern Hemlock maintained a boathouse and three boats. But Almost everyone will agree that the Eastern when the decaying dam was finally removed, Hemlock is one of the most attractive of our water levels dropped and natural succession native trees. Instead of the stiffness of character began again.

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Forests are always changing - sometimes long-lived tree is distinguished by its glistening rapidly, sometimes slowly. Two major processes white branches and strikingly mottled trunk. The always at work in a forest are "disturbance" and outer bark peels off in large flakes, leaving a "succession." A disturbance is any event that alters patchwork of colors from white and brown to vegetation. Disturbances can be caused by ice or greenish-gray. Sycamore fruit is ball-like, hanging wind storms that topple trees, or by fires or from long slender stalks, giving the trees the disease. These disturbances are neither good nor nickname, buttonwood. Very large leaves are bad but merely inevitable. A disturbance can also three to five lobed resembling a maple but be caused by human activity such as logging, exhibiting no fall color. farming, and road and dam construction. Familiar as a city street tree, London Whereas forests can sometimes recover as is the Planetree is a hybrid between Sycamore and case here, forests may not recover from Oriental Planetree. The bark is mottled as well permanent disturbances such as roads or house and the fruits also ball-like but Black Willow construction. Succession occurs because of hanging in twos from slender changing conditions in sunlight, moisture and stalks. nutrient levels, and other factors that control the Willow (Salix) is one of type of species that can grow in the forest. The the most commonplace of trees kinds of trees in the forest (its composition) as and shrubs. With new species well as the layers of vegetation (its structure) will continuing to be discovered, the change, whether you manage your forest or not. worldwide total now exceeds That is, succession will either happen naturally, or 300. Only a few attain tree size you can manage your forest to guide some of the like the Black Willow, while changes you want to occur there. most are shrublike, growing in clumps. Willows are water-

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Stream Ford The side path on the right leads to an old Station 3 ford of the Nokomis Creek. Fords are used for Management and Maintenance of the occasional crossing of streams and rivers with Riparian Areas equipment, vehicles, and cattle. The stream is Depending on the particular stream and usually accessed where the banks are low, water use of adjacent riparian lands, maintenance and depth is shallow, and few obstacles are present. management may be necessary. Here at Station 3 Environmental permits are required to construct there is evidence of minor channel erosion this type of feature. Overusing fords can cause impacting the hiking trail. A rip-rap lining and erosion and sedimentation impacts from the small culvert were added to protect the bare soil rutted roads or in areas where cattle approach the of the trail. streambank. Farmers, loggers, sportsmen, and Large riparian forests may be managed for utility companies often use fords instead of timber production so that financial benefits may building and maintaining expensive bridges. be realized for the landowner. In this case, zone 1 Before returning to the main trail, notice (nearest the stream) would remain unharvested some of the more common Sycamore keeping values of shade, woody debris, and species here in the streamside habitat intact. In agricultural areas, fencing may forest. Can you find the be needed to exclude livestock from damaging the Sycamore and Black Willow? riparian vegetation. Where grass buffers are Sycamore, Platanus designed to intercept heavy nutrient loadings occidentalis, is common along from adjacent cropland, harvesting of the hay can streams and bottomlands in be a tool to remove stored nutrients from the much of the northeastern . Conservation specialists are often United States. This massive 44 9

available to assist with pollution may come from many sources: design and maintenance ⇒ leaking fuel and other storage tanks of riparian areas. ⇒ seepage from commercial and industrial Station 4 lagoons and spills Clean Water ⇒ unlined landfills or old dumping grounds Action ⇒ strip mines and quarries ⇒ Salt and other bulk storage areas Water quality is ⇒ malfunctioning “on lot” home waste everyone’s business. treatment systems Whether you fertilizer Soil Survey of Keystone’s Campus your yard, raise livestock, spread salt on your driveway, or flush your toilet, YOU have an impact on water resources. Are there native fish in the stream behind your home? Would you trust drinking water from the lake on your next camping trip? Many of us think that Federal and State agencies are aggressively regulating activities that diminish the quality of our waters. This is somewhat true, but becoming involved with your local Town, Township, or City officials is the best method of protecting community water resources. combination of growth characteristics. Their leaves are simple and narrow or at least longer

Station 29 10 43

Station 28 Station 5 Ponds and Groundwater Greenway You’ll often find constructed ponds like this This concrete mass is the foundation of the one adjacent to streams because of the old suspension bridge linking the disembarking dependable water source. Keystone’s “Biology railway passengers to the Keystone Academy Pond” is a typical example of a dug out pond described at Station 27. Uphill, just out of sight, is created by excavating a hole and banking the the location of the former Factoryville station and lower side with a berm or dam. Shallow junction of rail lines leading to points north and a groundwater, springs, and surface runoff spur to Lake Winola. These historic community contribute the water. Rainfall that saturates the linkages along with stream corridors and other land above and seeps out of the toe of the hillside "green spaces" are being evaluated as part of a supplying water to the pond and stream is community greenway inventory sponsored by the shallow groundwater. Riparian forests help to Countryside Conservancy. Although the breakup rainfall and hold water in and around the inventory may take years to document and roots, which allows water to be released slowly evaluate, someday the local communities may into streams. Some groundwater finds its way desire to permanently protect riparian corridors, through pores and fractures very deep into the rail-trails, and important landscapes identified in bedrock. Groundwater is a precious resource that the greenway plan. needs to be protected as deep wells supply most Station 6 rural residents with drinking water. Community Steep and Stony Soil wellhead protection programs are beginning to Take a moment to rest on the bench high monitor and clean up regional pollution problems above Nokomis Creek. Notice how the on the land helping to prevent seepage of surface surrounding topography has changed with pollution into the water table. Groundwater

42 11 increasing steepness of the riparian corridor. suspension Here, protecting the stream requires wider buffers bridge that since water runoff flows more quickly increasing spanned the the risks of soil erosion and nutrient movement. creek valley. It The Soil Survey of Lackawanna and Wyoming served Counties, compiled and maintained by the U.S. passengers of Department of Agriculture, is used as a planning the Northern reference tool describing the limitations of a Electric particular soil for an intended use. This soil Railroad trolley mapping unit, Wellsboro Extremely Stony Loam, which stopped 8 to 25 percent slopes, is described as being at a station across the stream. There the building extremely stony, with a seasonal high water table. foundation and cinder rail bed still remain even The Wellsboro soil is well suited for trees though, though the trolley ceased operating in the 1930s. and this area is probably best maintained as a Can you imagine students arriving in this manner woodland. from Scranton and nearby communities to attend Station 7 Keystone Academy (which became Keystone Ravine, Forces of Nature College in 1934)? If you enjoy history, The History of Keystone is available in the library or In this rugged ravine, the large shattered campus bookstore. Continuing on the short loop Eastern Hemlock tree is evidence of the tornado trail to the stream edge you’ll pass two Norway and windstorm which occurred June 2, 1998. Spruce trees that were probably planted as This tree was among the 140 which Keystone landscape trees near the bridge years ago. College lost due to the storm. Two residents of Norway Spruce is a naturalized tree species in our nearby Lake Carey were killed in that Tuesday region. That is, they have adapted well

12 41 macroinvertebrates and fish is limited. Lift a rock evening tornado. By this, we are reminded to or two and observe the extent of the dark area on respect the strong forces of nature when the underside. managing and living with the natural environment. Only 10,000 years ago during the Varying velocity and depth describes the variety Pleistocene Epoch, a series of thick continental ice of water habitats from deep and slow, to shallow sheets advanced and retreated, covering this and fast stream sections. The best streams will region with accumulations of have some of each habitat type. glacial debris of sand, rounded gravels and boulders from Frequency of riffles, as well as the run/bend ratio, meltwater. Our present is an indication of high quality habitat. Frequent topography, soils, and land stream bends (meandering) can also help protect features are a result of this glacial the stream system during high energy flows when drift. compared to relatively straight stream sections. Station 8 Condition of banks is a measure of the potential Wetlands for streambank erosion. Steep banks and soft soil The low-lying area around are more likely to collapse and contribute to the elevated footbridge is a . Wetlands erosion than gently sloping areas. are complex and fascinating ecosystems that Station 27 perform a variety of functions of vital importance Suspension Bridge to the environment. The term wetland describes, in a collective way, what are more commonly These concrete pillars are not steps but an known as marshes, bogs, swamps, wet meadows, old foundation of a three hundred foot long

40 13 and shallow ponds. A wetland has several for as many as twelve specific parameters when technical definitions but briefly it’s an area of land evaluating a stream’s physical habitat. saturated with water for a long enough period during the growing season that a prevalence of Instream cover for fish includes the quantity and the growing vegetation is water-loving or variety of natural structure such as fallen trees, “hydrophytic”. logs, large rocks, and undercut banks. They Wetlands regulate water flow by detaining provide areas of refuge for feeding and laying storm flows for short periods thus reducing flood eggs. peaks. Many act as a trap to hold sediments and transform excess nutrients. Wetlands provide Epifaunal substrate is the amount of hard many wildlife habitat components such as substrates (rocks and breeding grounds, nesting sites, and other critical snags) available for habitat for a variety of fish and wildlife species as attachment of insects well as the unique and snails. Rocky habitat requirements of bottom areas are many threatened and critical for endangered plants and maintaining a animals. Unfortunately, healthy diversity of the benefits wetlands stream insects. provide to society are Ostrich neither widely Embeddedness refers to the extent to which rocks, Fern understood nor cobble, and boulders are covered or sunken into appreciated. silt and mud. Generally, as the rock becomes Destruction of about 60 embedded, the surface area left for shelter of

14 39 birds such as Cedar Waxwings. The Eastern Red percent of the wetlands in the Chesapeake Bay Cedar, being a small tree and tolerant of many Watershed has occurred from 1780 to 1980. environments, has gained attention as a landscape Some of the largest losses were a result of draining tree with many horticultural forms being land for agricultural production, flooding areas developed and marketed. when building reservoirs, and pond/lake construction. Black Locust, Robinia pseudoacacia Station 9 is native over a broad area of the Ferns Living Near Wetlands eastern United States. It likes moist There are several ferns that live along well-drained soils but can tolerate wetlands. The two commonest are Ostrich Fern extreme conditions like strip mine and Cinnamon Fern. Ferns are more primitive spoils and roadbanks. This tree is a plants than seed-producing plants. They produce legume and can fix nitrogen from tiny spores instead of seeds. The spores are really the air into the soil just like peas or germ cells with little or no spare food supplies like soybeans. The Black Locust is easily those of a seed. For a spore to start a new plant spotted during the summer with its conditions must be almost perfect. Spore- compound leaves. This locust also Black Locust producing plants must make millions or billions of sports a pair of spines at the leaf base. Its orange spores to ensure the starting of new plants. seeds develop in flat pods. Ostrich Fern, Matteuccia struthiopteris, is Station 26 the tallest fern found near wetlands. It can grow In stream Trail up to 1.5 m tall. It is often found in low, wet, Look up and downstream. What makes open woodlands as well. When a new leaf, more this section of the stream special? Biologists look properly called a frond, starts to grow, it forms a

38 15 curled-up leaf that will uncurl to make a long their natural range. Needles frond. The uncurled frond of Ostrich Fern is are in pairs, sharply pointed called a 'fiddlehead' and can be eaten before it and break easily when bent. turns woody and firm. The frond of the Ostrich They are longer than those Fern is tapered at both ends to form what looks of most northern pines, to many people like ranging from four to six a giant plume or inches. Often growing tall feather of an ostrich. and straight, demand for this That is how it forest tree has recently received its name. increased for its use in Red Pine The fronds are made construction of log homes of many leaflets on and as utility poles a central stem, which are joined Eastern Red Cedar, Juniperus virginiana, is found directly to the stalk. over most of the eastern United States on dry Leaflets are wide with lobes like those of an oak hills, in abandoned fields, leaf that do not reach the main rib down the and along fencerows and Red center of the leaflet. The base of each frond stem roadsides. Belonging to the Cedar is grooved like a piece of celery. juniper family, and thus not a Among the green fronds are shorter fertile true cedar, they have leaves stalks that grow from the ground. They are a that are either scalelike or dark color, usually brown, and much narrower awllike. In the fall, ripening than the usual fronds. These fronds produce dark blue berries are actually millions of tiny spores that can be blown by the cones that are relished by

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Station 25 wind and dropped at a new location to form new Tree Identification ferns. When the rest of the plant dies back to the A variety of unique tree species abound ground during winter, the fertile fronds are still near this trail station. See if you can find them. there. They are a favorite food of game birds such as Wild Turkey and Ring-necked Pheasant. Paper Birch or White Station 10 Paper Birch, Betula papyrifera, Birch Log, Rootwad, and is near the southern edge Boulder Revetments of its natural range. The white-barked trunks After the floodwaters populate forests receded from the January 1996 stretching from here storm event, three dislodged across New England, the Sycamore trees were jammed Great Lakes and western Canada. Do not confuse across Nokomis Creek. Woody this birch with the smaller white-barked Gray debris should remain in the Birch which populates strip mine spoils and old stream, providing cover, food, Japanese and habitat diversity, but, the pastures as a “pioneer” species. Knotweed risks of the jam moving Red Pine, Pinus resinosa, is distinctly a northern downstream, causing damage tree, found from Nova Scotia west to Minnesota to the suspension bridge were great. Resource and south to Northern Pennsylvania. A few Conservationists visiting the storm damaged site scattered trees can be found in the mountains of suggested moving and anchoring the root wads West Virginia. Millions of Red Pine seedlings have for bank protection where erosion was occurring. been set out for forest plantations in and beyond Three root wads along with footer logs and

36 17 boulder placement now protect the bank where habitats for a variety of wildlife. However, the you are standing. For many years logs, trees, and width and character affect the type of wildlife it other debris were removed from streams and will support. Research has shown that songbirds discarded. Professionals now are understanding can benefit from even narrow strips of riparian their benefits and how to use these materials. vegetation, while large species like deer and bear Station 11 require a minimum of 100 to 300 foot wide forest An Invasive Species buffers. Can you see or hear any evidence of wildlife nearby? If you look across the stream you can locate an extensive stand of Japanese Knotweed, Polygonum cuspidatum, an introduced species Birds of the Riparian Zone Common MerganserNorthern Cardinal from Eastern Asia. Sometimes known as Mexican Swamp Sparrow Bamboo, it resembles true bamboo with its fast American Robin single-stemmed growth sometimes exceeding four Blue Jay Great Blue Heron feet in one month. In Winter or very early Spring Mallard you will see a thicket of the previous years’ dead Red-winged Blackbird stalks or maybe red asparagus-like shoots Red-eyed Vireo Cedar Waxwing emerging from the rhizomes near the soil surface. Gray Catbird This plant is not native to North America Common Flicker and is referred to as an “invasive exotic” because Common Yellowthroat Black-capped Chickadee Great it spreads very aggressively and can dominate a Pine Siskin Blue site, outcompeting the native vegetation. Song Sparrow Knotweed’s favorite sites are loose fill, old Belted Kingfisher Downy Woodpecker railroad beds, ditches, and riverbanks. Although Hairy Woodpecker

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From here you can also get a good look at very difficult to control, the spread of invasive the three rootwads embedded into the opposite exotics must be checked or their dominance of an bank. We will talk more about the benefits of area will reduce the diversity of native plant rootwad placement at Station 25. communities and seriously impact Station 24 habitat. The Amphitheater Station 12 Sit in the amphitheater for a minute. The Tree Seedlings, and open air stage was once used when Keystone Volunteers Academy held graduation ceremonies here in the To meet the public’s aggressive goal of re- early 1900s. The largest class establishing hundreds of miles of forest buffer will was 25. Parents and family Belted require large planting projects. Planting seedlings Kingfish members came with horses is an inexpensive method used to establish large and wagons and made a day numbers of trees and shrubs. A 400 feet long of it. A band played the buffer along the edge of the large farm field was graduation march while the planted with 500 seedlings using volunteers from procession came from Bailey the Countryside Conservancy, a local land Field conservation organization. Competition from off to your right. How big do you think the grass and browsing wildlife often limits the success surrounding large maple and tulip trees were at of a seedling planting. Site preparation of the time? mowing, light tillage, or herbicide applications Look at the wildlife habitat in the may help reduce competition. Your Conservation streamside forest surrounding you. Riparian District or State Forester will offer you guidance buffer areas have the potential to provide rich with tree planting.

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Specialized nurseries raise seedlings in Station 23 nursery beds for two or three years. They are Gravel Bar lifted and shipped in early spring before growth If the water is begins. When kept cool and dark, seedlings may low enough, go out be safely stored for a few weeks or longer until beyond the station planting. marker and onto the Benefits of using seedlings for establishing gravel bar. This “point trees are bar” is a natural ⇒ no heavy root balls or pots to carry to the occurrence in the planting site stream. Look across to ⇒ inexpensive, usually $0.40 to $1.00 for each the opposite side and plant depending on variety and quantity you can see active ⇒ growth can equal a tree planted from a pot or streambank erosion container occurring, a widening ⇒ no large equipment needed for planting of this area, and the Station 13 beginnings of formation of a meander. The study Soft Armor Streambank of water flow and how it affects the channel is Repair known as stream hydrology. Reduced stream velocity in this section allowed gravel to deposit Keystone College’s efforts to correct and build up. This bar is beneficial and can help stream-related erosion problems involved catch woody debris and increase scouring. These reshaping and planting 200 feet of this are desirable roughness elements helping to streambank area. This was completed in the maintain habitat diversity and complexity of the Spring of 1998 as part of the community forestry stream system.

20 33 waiting for insects to drop from the tree boughs. grant project. Large stockpiles of dredged Station 22 materials had to be removed first, which were Bailey Field piled high on top of the streambank. But since the integrity of the original streambank remained, As you enter Bailey Field, notice the it was thought that plantings alone could provide change in land use from the mature forest canopy permanent stability. to this recreational and multi-use playing field. A bioengineering method using a coir fiber Why do you suppose this site was chosen as a roll was installed at the water’s edge. Go down playing field? Is this a good use of the land here? to the stream if you would like a closer look. Does the lawn provide a good riparian buffer for Coconut fibers are used in making this fiber roll the stream? because they last for seven or more years before Many years ago, before powerful biodegrading. When placed near water, the fibers earthmoving equipment, level flood plains could remain soggy and are excellent for nursing young easily be developed into large fields with little seedlings until they root into the streambank. work. Areas along streams and rivers were This coir fiber roll was planted with wetland converted from the forest to other land uses. seedlings: Cities, large commercial facilities, farming, and Carex / Tussockstricta Sedge recreational facilities like Bailey Field displaced Juncus / effususSoft Rush native forests. Besides level topography, Scirpus /validus Softstem Bulrush streamside areas are desirable because soils are More Riparian Shrubs: usually well-drained sand and gravel that was Cornus sericea / Red-osier Dogwood deposited by years of periodic flooding. Vaccinium corymbosum / Highbush Blueberry Sambucus canadensis / American Elderberry Cornus amomum / Silky Dogwood

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Viburnum dentatum / Arrowwood Viburnum Glenburn are within its drainage. Towns have Keep in mind that this type of streambank more impervious area (pavement and rooftops), stabilization is risky because until the trees and causing faster water runoff during rainfall events. shrubs get well established storm-related erosion This accelerated runoff can cause increased damage can occur. It is recommended that you flooding and stream bank erosion depending on get advice from a conservation professional when storm duration and rainfall intensity. Other urban planning a stream project. impacts to the stream are the two major sewage Station 14 treatment plants serving those communities. They Seaman’s Farm their treated water into the stream. Can you think of other water quality impacts coming The house, a silo, a few outbuildings and from urban areas? Just a few might be road salts, fruit trees are reminders of the former farm that lawn fertilizers and chemicals, or gasoline and oils operated on the from autos. surrounding lands until the late 1980s . This Station 21 type of farm was (and Framework of Roots is) common here in Be careful not to slip while peering over Northeastern the bank at the tangle of roots exhibited by the Pennsylvania. Crop Norway Spruce. Here it is evident how tree roots fields lined the narrow and other vegetation can hold soil in place. But valley bottoms producing abundant grains and you will note that bank undercutting is in process vegetables on the better soil. The steeper hillsides and eventually some trees will tip over from loss yielded plentiful grass hay and pasture for feeding of support. In the meantime, scour holes beneath dairy cattle. Forests remained on the rocky the rootballs are excellent hiding places for trout

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Station 20 hilltops and steep ravines, and products like Urban Stream sawtimber, firewood, and maple sugar provided Through the opening between the spruce wintertime income for the farmers. trees you’ll see a smaller stream flowing directly To continue on the trail proceed upstream towards you, emptying into the larger and cross the one lane bridge to the other side Tunkhannock Creek. This stream is Station 15 named both Tinkle-paugh Creek or Ackerly Creek Three-Zone Buffers on maps of the region. Over 11,000 acres or 17 Usually when planting and establishing a square miles make up its watershed. Ackerly riparian forest, three zones are evaluated. Zone 1 Creek watershed is more urbanized because towns (the immediate streambank) will be limited to like Clarks Summit, Waverly, Dalton, and plant species tolerant of periodic flooding and wet soils. But as you move further away from the stream, zone 2 holds potential for more diversity through adding more varieties of trees and shrubs. The primary purpose of zone 2 is to provide

30 23 necessary contact time and carbon energy sources Station 19 for buffering processes to take place. Riparian Shrubs This future forest will buffer water runoff Near Keystone’s Children’s center you can directed from the adjacent athletic fields. Here the experience a variety of shrub and understory management for wildlife habitat, aesthetics, and trees. Shrubs not only add structure and shade to timber are compatible as long as shade levels, and the riparian buffer but the increased diversity and production of leaf litter, detritus and large woody dense thicket provides cover for many birds and debris is maintained. Can you identify the species mammals. But many shrub species are intolerant selected by the landscape architect for use here in of shade so therefore they’re most prolific in open this zone? areas or along the “edge” where light can reach Acer rubrum / Red Maple them. In sunny areas you’ll find Box-elder and Fraxinus pennsylvanica / Green Ash Buttonbush. But here along the stream where the Quercus palustris / Pin Oak large tree canopy and northwestern exposure Nyssa sylvatica / Black Tupelo limits the available sunlight, more shade tolerant Amelanchier canadensis / Serviceberry species exist. There has been a copy of the plans Carpinus caroliniana / American Hornbeam made available to you in the library to help you Pinus strobus / White Pine identify the shrubs here. Clethra alnifolia / Sweet Pepperbush Ilex verticillata / Common Winterberry Here are some to look for: Sambucus canadensis / American Elderberryedge. Viburnum dentatum / Arrowwood Viburnum Salix discolor / Pussy Willow Ilex glabra / Inkberry Viburnum dentatum / Arrowwood Viburnum Cornus sericea / Red-osier Dogwood Ilex verticillata / Common Winterberry Kalmia latifolia / Mountain Laurel

24 29 stream water Station 16 temperature as much as 10-15°F during the Soft vs. Hard Armor summer. In winter, the canopy can moderate Restoration temperature extremes. Cool water holds more New ideas in oxygen and supports increased life in the stream. streambank stabilization As a result there are probably a few fishermen Fascine emerged in the 1990s. trying their luck at landing a trout in the “special planted along Engineers, designation waters”. Looking upstream beyond a stream environmentalists, and the bend, visualize 20,000 acres of rural farm and researchers were looking forest land that make up the watershed yielding for less costly and more the generous flow beneath you. environmentally friendly 200 acre Lake methods to correct Lackawanna, located four erosion damaged streams. miles upstream at Old fashioned “hard Lackawanna State Park, armor” techniques of was formed by building a concrete-lined channels, large dam across this gabion (wire) baskets, and vertical stone walls are South Branch of being put aside and replaced by bioengineering or Tunkhannock Creek. “soft armoring” methods. Many of these newer What impacts (good or methods use combinations of plants, brush, logs, bad) in this watershed stumps, and boulders to deflect stream flow and may result from building absorb stream energy while quick rooting the dam and creating the vegetation holds streambank soil in place. These lake? tend to create habitat diversity and not eliminate 28 25 it like concrete and steel structures. Look across Keystone College helps Pennsylvania’s goal of the stream and you’ll see a coir (coconut) fiber log creating 600 miles of new buffers along streams just at the water’s and rivers by the year 2015. The Pennsylvania You can inspect it more closely at Station 22. Riparian Buffer Initiative is part of a four-state Halfway up the near bank, a row of “Streamco” effort of replanting streamside forests throughout willow is emerging near the normal high water the Chesapeake Bay watershed. Is there a stream line. These were planted as fascines in Spring of in your hometown where you can plant and help 1998. Fascines are sausage-like bundles of to meet the goal? dormant branches tied together and buried in **Find your way to the next station on the trenches along the streambank. Their “brushy” pedestrian suspension bridge. nature adds resistance to erosion while sprouting Station 18 of the fascine occurs. Again, young willow Canopy Makes the Difference branches seem to be ideal for this purpose! Station 17 Planting and Stabilization In 1997 the NE Pennsylvania Urban and Community Forestry Grants Program funded the stream restoration and interpretive project just Make your way onto the suspension bridge ahead of you. It included repairing 200 feet of and stop midway facing upstream. From here severely eroded streambank caused by the you can “feel” the benefits of the streamside January 1996 flood, and also establishing a forest. Look at the huge arching Sycamores and riparian forest buffer while demonstrating their giant leaves gracefully forming a canopy. stabilization and planting techniques. As a bonus, The shade created is important for reducing

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