Susquehanna Chapter of Trout Unlimited will host an important presentation by Dr. Benjamin R. Hayes, Director of the Watershed Sciences and Engineering (WSE) Program at Bucknell University, on how the legacy impacts of the “Lumber Era” and catastrophic floods in north-central Pennsylvania initiated substantial landform changes and stream destabilization in our major stream floodplains and have significant implications on watershed management and planning.
In gravel bed streams such as Loyalsock, Muncy, Lycoming, and Fishing Creeks, the fluvial (stream flow) response to Sept 2011 flooding caused by Tropical Storm Lee was characterized by (1) large-scale new channel creation and old channel abandonment with chute development on the insides of bend meanders, (2) extensive erosion of gravel from channel margins and transport downstream in large pulses, (3) headwater landslides and alluvial fan activation, (4) major floodplain erosion and deposition, and (5) breaching of human-made berms and reconnection of the main channel to prehistoric floodplain side-channel branching. Streams in this region appear to be in a phase of disequilibrium largely in response to major shifts in sediment delivery from their watersheds caused by historic logging practices and a series of floods over the past 100 years.
This presentation emphasizes the important influences of drainage basin physical characteristics and historic land-use changes and stream flows in understanding current channel dynamics and basin response to heavy precipitation and flooding. Streams in this region are likely to remain in a prolonged phase of readjustment for many decades as complex response to historical land-use change continues. In this disequilibrium phase, most significant rainfall events will likely trigger additional readjustment and channel change. The findings have significant implications for watershed management and planning.
The meeting will be held on Wednesday, January 8, 2025 at 7 pm at the Covenant Central Presbyterian Church Fellowship Hall, rear of 807 West Fourth Street (enter off of Campbell Street) in Williamsport, PA. The public and all persons interested in watershed management and flood mitigation and stream projects are welcomed and encouraged to attend. For more information, please see our website at https://susquehannatu.com/ and https://www.bucknell.edu/fac-staff/ben-hayes.
Susquehanna Chapter of Trout Unlimited 