Amy Souers, American Rivers

Amy Souers is online editor for American Rivers in Washington, D.C. She is on a two-month cross-country road trip exploring America's rivers.

The Delaware River forms the boundary of New York and Pennsylvania. It's also the boundary of Pennsylvania and New Jersey. And it also separates New Jersey and Delaware.

With all of these boundaries, it's hard to know who really looks after the river. Russ Johnson says the Delaware is a river "that can easily fall through the cracks." But Russ, who works for the Heritage Conservancy, is making sure that doesn't happen. Today, he drove me through the valley to show me some of the Conservancy's restoration projects.

Our first stop was Park Creek, a small stream that eventually feeds into the Delaware. The creek had been suffering from erosion and sedimentation, so this spring the Conservancy and the township restored a section of stream bank. Russ explained that first they had to resculpt the bank into a more natural slope. Then, they stabilized the bank to prevent further erosion using biodegradable coconut fiber mats and a "log" made of coconut husks. Finally, they planted native grasses and shrubs that will remain once the mats break down.

At our next stop, Martin's Creek, we got a glimpse of what Park Creek could look like in a year. A similar restoration project happened here last year and already the native plants are lush and thick (and the rain that fell all day today made everything look especially green!).

As Russ drove me through the valley, he pointed out what he calls "starter castles" -- the big, new single family homes popping up in what was once farmland. With more development, roads, and parking lots in the watershed, water quality diminishes. Russ told me that when the water quality goes down 10 to 15 percent, you lose rare and endangered species. And when it drops 25 to 30 percent, most native species disappear.

Planting riparian buffer strips -- those swaths of grasses, shrubs, and trees along stream banks -- can go a long way toward keeping water quality high and protecting native fish, birds, and wildlife. These buffer strips not only prevent erosion, they filter out pollutants and provide good habitat.

Russ said that in addition to dealing with all of the development issues, one big problem he faces is that not everyone knows what a "watershed" is. "Most people know what school district they live in. So shouldn't people also know what watershed they live in? Shouldn't they know what water management district they live in?" he wonders. He doesn't think it would be such a bad idea if we took a lesson from New Zealand -- that country rearranged its political lines based on watershed boundaries.

Other wild and scenic designations Russ hopes to move forward are the lower Delaware River and Musconetcong River. We met John Brunner of the Musconetcong Watershed Association on the riverbank at the old Riegels paper mill site, then drove up winding roads through the little town of Riegelstown. John, an avid canoeist, said the river, known locally as the "Musky," is "little but strong." He told us the river's name comes from the Lenape, meaning "moving water." We passed several old mills, evidence of the river's historic and industrial legacy. The river is popular with anglers -- the limestone in the area makes for good trout fishing -- as well as paddlers.

"The Wild and Scenic Rivers Act isn't just for pristine Western rivers," John said. "It also exists to protect cultural and historic values."

We got out of the car and stood on one of the many little single-lane bridges that cross the river. The water was shallow but quick under our feet. John, a music major in college, was explaining how he ended up in the watershed-protection business. He said it was actually pretty simple: "There's a thin line between rivers and music."