The Wildlands Conservancy

The Wildlands Conservancy is a nonprofit, member supported organization serving eastern Pennsylvania. The activities of the Conservancy center around the concepts of environmental conservation, preservation, and education. LEO partners with the Conservancy through its Rivers Program, which studies Lehigh Valley streams to document current stream conditions and pinpoint problems such as stream warming, pollution, sedimentation, and excessive nutrient, bacterial and mineral enrichment. The resulting data are used to develop plans of action for remediation, preservation, and management of the stream. LEO interns work with Conservancy personnel to locate and survey monitoring points and problem areas using GPS, conduct regular water quality monitoring, and manage a GIS database for geographic analysis and presentation of water quality data and land-use patterns. They also research public records to update land ownership and development plans in the database. In partnership with the Conservancy, they maintain and operate a digital hydroprobe on the Lehigh River for routine monitoring of water quality.