Blue Hen Creek: An Evaluation of Stream Habitat Restoration at the UD Experimental Watershed
Date
2004-03-31
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Abstract
There are several techniques available to use when restoring a watershed, the best technique depends on the contributing factors to the degradation of the watershed. The Christina Basin is a Piedmont Watershed located in Northern Delaware and Southern Pennsylvania and has been selected for restoration by the state and federal governments (Kauffman, Wozniak, and Vonck, 2003). Before President Clinton left office he signed legislation designating the White Clay Creek as Delaware and Pennsylvania’s first Wild and Scenic River (USNPS, 2001). This designation placed a certain amount of importance on restoring the White Clay Creek, a part of the Christina River Basin, to more ideal conditions. One way to improve the conditions of the White Clay Creek is to restore its tributary streams.
Stream restoration was chosen as the primary restoration technique for the White Clay Creek and the Christina River Basin. The biggest factor when performing any type of restoration is deciding the desired end result of the restoration. Especially with changes in the surrounding land use, restoring a stream to its historic conditions may not be successful because of changes in the hydraulic needs of the area; the stream needs to be restored to the stream type that will be the most stable under the present conditions regardless of the historic stream type (Gracie, 2003). Streams are not static entities but are dynamic systems that naturally make lateral movements and these lateral movements are part of a healthy, stable stream. Changes in the grade of the stream channel leads to stream instability.