Purpose of the project:

Minsi Lake was created for public fishing and boating by the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission (PFBC) in 1970 and as one of only two public lakes in Northampton County, is popular with anglers from across the region. Minsi Lake is located in eastern Pennsylvania’s Lehigh Valley, the fastest growing and third most populous region in the state of Pennsylvania, with a population of nearly 822,000 as of the 2010 U.S. Census. In 1975, the 117-acre lake and surrounding 194 acres of woodlands that are owned by PFBC were leased to Northampton County as part of the county’s park system; an amended version of that lease continues to the present day. The 311-acres of woods and waters is called Minsi Lake Park.

In May 2017, PFBC drained Minsi Lake in preparation for a $4 million, two-year-long dam rehabilitation and spillway reconstruction project, which is scheduled to begin in late 2017; the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection had deemed the dam and spillway structurally deficient. At that same time, NorCor Parks collaborated with PFBC as an official cooperator in the agencies Cooperative Habitat Improvement Program (CHIP) to take advantage of this rare opportunity to address the limited littoral structure and excessive shallowness impairments at Minsi Lake during its complete drawdown. On June 28, 2017, PFBC’s Division of Habitat Management’s Lake Section physically surveyed the empty lakebed, documenting its existing conditions, including its habitat and excessive shallowness impairments. The survey revealed that about 75 acres of the 117-acre lake basin are lacking adequate fish habitat. The agency subsequently developed a Five-Year Fish Habitat Management Project Plan as part of its CHIP Project with NorCo Parks and Northampton County Junior Conservation School (NCJCS).

Project deliverables included:

1. 510 Rock Rubble Humps to provide forage habitat for invertebrates, crustaceans, and baitfish;
2. 200 Porcupine Cribs to provide refuge habitat for and improve recruitment of sunfish, bass and other gamefish;
3. 45 Rock Stars to provide forage habitat for invertebrates, baitfish and sunfish;
4. 40 Spider Humps to provide forage habitat for invertebrates and a diversity of bait and game fish, as well as forage and ambush cover for bass and sunfish;
5. 27 Post Clusters to provide cover for game and sunfish and ambush cover for bass;
6. 12 Post Stumps to provide cover for game and sunfish and ambush cover for bass;
7. 10 Turtle Basking Platforms;
8. 10 Felled Trees cabled to the shoreline and provide excellent habitat for game and sunfish in a variety of ways, i.e., spawning, recruitment, foraging and refuge cover
9. 7 Rock Famed Deflectors to provide about 200 linear feet of armoring against shoreline wind and wave erosion, enhancement of aquatic microhabitats, and provide ready access for anglers to fish from a solid rocky shoreline.

Human Interest/Community Benefit:

Northampton County Junior Conservation School recently established Friends of Minsi Lake (FOML) as a standing committee to chart the course and provide the resources necessary to enhance the natural and recreational assets throughout the Minsi Lake area, including the Minsi Lake Cooperative Habitat Improvement Project with PFBC. The friend’s group includes representatives from eight organizations and an at-large committee member, who represents the public with FOML, occupies a ninth seat on the committee. FOML’s mission is to support Minsi Lake and improve the area’s conservation value, encourage economic development, and enhance recreational opportunities for everyone who lives, works, and plays in Northampton County.

To that end, Friends of Minsi Lake is the face and vehicle for public outreach, education, fundraising, and community involvement in the Minsi Lake Habitat Improvement Project. The group’s public outreach subcommittee developed a 30-minute illustrated PowerPoint program and associated digital and print material about the project and presented to the local community, youth and civic organizations i.e., sportsmen’s clubs, watershed organizations, Scouting groups and Lions Clubs. A FOML Facebook site was developed and within five days of launching, over 1,000 people saw it and nearly 200 began following. The outreach objective is to raise public awareness and enthusiasm for the project; educate about the ecological, economic, societal and recreational values and benefits of a healthy Minsi Lake, it’s watershed and surrounding parklands and greenways; encourage and recruit community involvement with the habitat improvement project, and raise awareness and money for the comprehensive park rehabilitation.

The Minsi Lake Habitat Improvement Project received the 2019 Lehigh Valley Award for Environmental Project and subsequently received a Certificate of Recognition from Senator Mario Scavello of the 40th Pennsylvania State Senate District.

Project Timeline: Start Date: June 1, 2018; End Date: July 2019

Economic Calculator results: $30,000 NFHP funding: Partner Contribution: Cash $64,370; In-kind: $87,019

Jobs: 3.5362
Total Sales:USD $308,305.24
Value Added:USD $167,221.90
Income:USD $118,557.20

Partners:

Reservoir Fisheries Habitat Partnership, Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission, Northampton County, Northampton County Junior Conservation School, Martins-Jacoby Watershed Association, Sun Belt Rising, Lehigh Valley Center for Independent Living, Penn State Extension-Master Watershed Steward Program, Watershed Coalition of Lehigh Valley, Local Boy and Girl Scout Troups, The H&K Group, Wildlands Conservancy

YouTube Videos:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o0woldAqcv8

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gjv3rDRwn0I

Chronolog Photo Timelapse:

https://www.chronolog.io/site/NCP101