Nature Conservancy

The Mt. Bethel Fen Complex, located in Northampton County, Pennsylvania, is nestled along the Jacoby Creek Valley, in the rural Mt. Bethel community. The 2,500-acre complex of at least 10 rare wetland communities consists of small calcareous fens and seeps, marshes and wooded swamps scattered across a glaciated limestone valley.

Recognized by botanists since the turn of the century as a botanical wonder, the Mt. Bethel Fens contains an unusual plant community found only in eastern Pennsylvania and New Jersey. The fens at Mt. Bethel are linked by their proximity and, more importantly, by their shared source of water. The amount, quality and chemical composition of the water are crucial to the fens' existence. If the quality or quantity of the water declines in one fen, it will decline in all of them, damaging or eliminating the delicate fen communities.

LEO works in partnership with the Pennsylvania chapter of The Nature Conservancy to help monitor and understand ground water flow in the fens. An understanding of the sources and patterns of groundwater flow are being studied. The study is working to determine how much water flows through the fens, how the fens affect the quality of the water, and how much flow the fens area can support without desurbing the sensative equilibrium. Continued testing has been done on the wells for pH, specific conductivity, temperature, cation analysis, anion analysis, and nutrient analysis. Water samples are also being taken from Jacoby Creek, the main waterway in the area. Samples are being taken from points along the creek, in order to see the changes in the water quality as the water passes through the fens.