[Editor’s note: This is a new monthly column from the Berks County Conservation District.]
By Jennifer A. Brooks
Prior to colonial settlement Leni Lenape tribes populated the Cacoosing Watershed.
They named the area “Gokhosing’ meaning “place of the owl.”
Fortunately, many forested and shrub wetland habitats along the Cacoosing can still be observed today, however, almost half of the watershed has become developed providing ample opportunity to implement conservation practices to enhance and protect the riparian habitat along the Cacoosing Creek.
The Cacoosing Creek Watershed is located in Berks County.
It originates in the forested hills of South Heidelberg and Spring townships, just south of Sinking Spring and Wernersville, and flows in a northeasterly direction for approximately 8.4 miles before its confluence with the Tulpehocken Creek.
The 21.8-square-mile watershed contains only one named tributary, the Little Cacoosing Creek.
The Cacoosing Creek is recognized as the primary coldwater tributary to the Tulpehocken Creek below Blue Marsh Lake.
The consistent cold waters from the Cacoosing provide a refuge for trout in the hot summer months, allowing angling enthusiasts to fish the waters year-round.
The Creek is listed as Class-A Wild Brown Trout Fishery by the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission. Additionally, the Cacoosing Creek is designated as a Natural Reproduction Trout Stream from its headwaters to its confluence with the Tulpehocken.
Recently Kent Himelright, watershed specialist with the Berks County Conservation District organized a live stake planting on the Cacoosing Creek as part of an initiative for the Coldwater Conservation Plan for the Cacoosing Creek Watershed. The project was funding by the state Fish and Boat Commission.
The Berks County Conservation District along with an outstanding showing of volunteers planted 1,000 native live stakes along 4,000 feet of stream over the course of two days to enhance the streamside riparian to provide shade and habitat for aquatic wildlife, filter pollutants from stormwater runoff and reduce streambank erosion.
Volunteers from several groups including Boy Scout Troop 431, Master Watershed Stewards, Tuplehocken Creek Watershed Association, and local residents and homeowners worked together in an impressive effort to restore and protect a section of the creek.
The volunteers’ hard work and dedication overwhelmed conservation district staff, who never anticipated having such an amazing turnout.
Working with property owners to protect our precious waterways is a passion of the conservation district.
For over 70 years the conservation district has been dedicated to the encouragement of and education in the wise stewardship of soil and water.
The conservation district has a long, successful history of partnering with local and state organizations to implement best management practices along Berks County streams, such as the Cacoosing Creek, protecting the coldwater heritage of the watershed for generations to come.
If you have a stream or creek on your property the conservation district is there to help.
The district can provide technical assistance, planning and funding options for implementation of riparian buffers and other best management practices designed to protect water quality. For more information: www.berkscd.com or call 610-372-4657.
Jennifer Brooks is the environmental education and outreach coordinator for the Berks County Conservation District.
Source: Berkshire mont
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