The Forks of the Delaware Chapter of Trout Unlimited has received a grant of $1,000 through the Trout Unlimited national Embrace A Stream grant program for its Bushkill Creek – Planning Phase Project. Volunteers from the chapter will use the funds to prepare for a restoration of Bushkill Creek in Northampton County in order to eventually improve riparian and in-stream habitats.

“We’re thrilled to be able to do more great work restoring and improving Bushkill Creek thanks to this Embrace A Stream grant,” said Joseph Baylog, Forks of the Delaware Chapter President. “With this grant, we will engage volunteers from our local community to prepare for work on a river we all know and love as residents and anglers.”

The Bushkill Creek – Planning Phase Project will make a thorough science-based assessment of the creek. This entails identifying optimal locations for certain installed structures and developing a list of materials, equipment, and contractor hours needed to implement the restoration. Following the completion of this phase, we will proceed to restore a 1.9-mile stretch along the “Class A” stream to improve riparian and in-stream wild trout habitat.

Embrace A Stream is a matching grant program administered by Trout Unlimited that provides funds to local chapters and councils for coldwater fisheries conservation. Since its inception in 1975, the grant program has funded more than 1,000 individual projects for a total of $4.4 million in direct cash grants. Local chapters and councils contributed an additional $13 million in cash and in-kind services to EAS funded projects, for a total investment of more than $17 million.

“We’re thrilled to support the Forks of the Delaware Chapter in its efforts to improve such an important local trout stream,” said Russ Meyer, chair of the Embrace A Stream grants committee, a group of Trout Unlimited volunteer leaders from across the country. “This year’s grant applications were extremely competitive, but the proposal for Bushkill Creek stood out in our committee.”

Along with the $1,000 grant, the Forks of the Delaware Chapter will also be entered in the Embrace A Stream Challenge, a week-long online fundraising contest running Nov. 6-12 and sponsored by Orvis and Trout Unlimited to provide an additional $50,000 in cash prizes to these important conservation and education projects. To help the Forks of the Delaware Chapter win additional funds for the Bushkill Creek – Planning Phase Project visit www.embraceastream.org from Nov. 6-12 and make a donation of as little as $10 to help unlock prizes ranging from $250 to $5,000.