The Elk County Conservation District has been working on a watershed assessment of the Medix Run watershed and here are some more details on this project from their newsletter.
“What exactly is a watershed assessment?”
We will break it down below.
What is a watershed?
A watershed is an area of land where all rain, snowmelt, and runoff drain to a common point. Think of a watershed like a bowl- all the water dropped on the rim of the bowl flows to the middle. All of this to say, the water dropped on the hills surrounding Medix Run flows downhill and ends up in Medix Run. This entire area makes up the Medix Run Watershed.
What is a watershed assessment?
A watershed assessment looks at the land and water resources throughout a watershed to
determine their current health. Essentially, this means Elk and Clearfield County District staff and Western Pennsylvania Conservancy staff have been walking Medix Run and its tributaries. Staff are looking for things like habitat, erosion, stream crossings, or anything that may be influencing the health of the water resources in the area.
What is visual assessment?
So far, staff have been working on visual assessments in the lower portion of the Medix Run watershed. This means staff walk the streams and fill out a form with multiple categories that look at the overall health of a section of stream. It helps to identify where streambank stabilization or habitat work could be completed. Staff are looking for things such as areas that make have been altered by humans through dredging, etc., how stable the streambanks are, if there is a buffer from roadways, yards, etc., how shaded the stream is by trees, how many riffles, runs, and pools are present, and what size the rocks in the bottom of the stream channel are.
The photo above was taken during a visual assessment outing. The photo was taken on Sullivan Run, a tributary to Medix Run.
What are NAACC Surveys?
The next step in the watershed assessment process is to complete NAACC surveys. NAACC stands for North Atlantic Aquatic Connectivity Collaborative. These surveys are a type of standardized assessment where you travel throughout the watershed to look at road-stream crossings. The purpose is to evaluate whether aquatic or terrestrial life could pass through the crossing. When evaluating a crossing, staff look at things like if there is a waterfall at the outlet of the crossing, how fast the water is moving through the crossing, and if the structure is structurally sound. This information is then recorded in a database that other organizations can access and help repair fragmented habitats.
Find more information about the Elk County Conservation District at elkconservationdistrict.com/elk-bugle-newsletter
