ARCGIS STORY MAP AS A PLATFORM TO SHARE RESEARCH ON STREAM RESPONSE TO LOW-HEAD DAM REMOVAL - BUSHKILL CREEK, PENNSYLVANIA

Three low-head run-of-river dams on the lower Bushkill Creek in Easton Pennsylvania are scheduled to be removed during the summer of 2019. The dams will be removed with the goals of more-fully reconnecting the Bushkill Creek to the Delaware River and restoring the lower Bushkill to a more natural, free-flowing condition to improve ecosystem function. For two years, we have been collecting a variety of baseline data that will be used to help develop a model of channel response to dam removal and also as the baseline for continued monitoring of the channel response to dam removal. We mapped approximately 5.7 km of the Bushkill Creek from the confluence with the Delaware River upstream to the bridge at Edgewood Ave in Easton. The stream was separated based on physical characteristics into runs, riffles, pools, and dam-formed pools. Other characteristics that were mapped include both natural and man-made features such as islands, rip-rap, bridges, significant storm drainage pipes, and retaining walls along the riparian corridor. We measured a total of 30 channel cross-profiles, and measured bed material grain size distributions to characterize the channel upstream and downstream of ach existing dam, as well as at the location of a legacy dam that failed some 75 years ago. In addition we have been developing a photo database including modern as well as historical images of the creek and former mill dams.

The dataset contains many diverse types of data and information that are constantly changing and being updated. ArcGIS Story Map provides an excellent platform to gather visual information into one place and make the data readily accessible to a diverse audience. There are many shareholders in this project including Lafayette College, the City of Easton, the Wildlands Conservancy, the Delaware River Basin Commission, American Rivers, The Bushkill Stream Conservancy, landowners, the citizens of Easton, and many others. ArcGIS Story Map allows us to collect and display various types of data and information into sensible categories that are accessible using clickable tabs such as: Mapping, Cross Sections, Sediment, Photos, Historical Images, etc. The Story Map will serve as our publicly-accessible data archive as we continue to monitor the system after the dams are removed and the channel evolves.