Watershed Assessment of White Deer Creek

Elaine Langone Center, Terrace Room

For conservation organizations looking to improve the quality of local watersheds, watershed assessments are a necessary first step in order to determine how to allocate their efforts. A watershed assessment consists of both quantitative and qualitative spatial data compiled to produce an overall characterization of the entire watershed. From this information, spatial analysis of the data using GIS systems can be completed to reveal the portions of the watershed that are in most need of restoration. Ideally, a watershed assessment will provide a holistic view of all of the current resource conditions that exist within a watershed. Comparing this to the desired conditions, watershed assessments serve as a quick and efficient information database that can be used when making and prioritizing conservation decisions. The White Deer Creek watershed examined in this study covers approximately 122 square kilometers of land and spans portions of Pennsylvania’s Centre, Clinton, Union, and Lycoming Counties. The basin contains 118 km of mapped streams, of which the largest is White Deer Creek. Most notably, White Deer Creek is a tributary of the West Branch of the Susquehanna River, meeting the larger river in Watsontown, PA. This study was conducted by selecting and examining nine sites of varying characteristics along the entirety of White Deer Creek, as well as one site on the largest tributary to the creek, Sand Spring Run. Field data collection was comprised of aquatic biodiversity surveys, habitat assessments, velocity gradient readings, and water quality. This information was then combined with a LiDAR digital elevation model, historical land use data, soil characterization, bedrock maps, and climate data. Together, a watershed characterization was completed for White Deer Creek.