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Thanks(for)giving

bride-farm-stone-wall-2“Giving is not just about making a donation. It is about making a difference.”
Kathy Calvin

Thank you for giving to conserving land and cleaning up water. Your donations to the Northcentral Pennsylvania Conservancy are making a difference across the northcentral region. You are helping land owners conserve properties that allow rain and snow to become ground water and drinking water. You are creating spaces for bird watching, hiking, nature photography, and hunting. You are stopping streamside erosion and making our streams cleaner and healthier for fish.

green-heron_ccswaThank you for giving. Thank you for making a difference.

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A Walk Around the Irion’s

“This land is as much a part of our family as our children and our animals – we feel honored to have the chance to be its stewards….”

001When Lou and Wanda decided it was time to move their family to Tioga County and transition from furniture restoration to sawing lumber for furniture making they choose to invest in a property they could manage and steward. After several years they reached out to NPC and donated their first conservation easement to NPC. For the last 12 years NPC has visited the property at least once a year to ensure the conservation easement’s terms are being followed.

This year the visit happened after the fall foliage’s peak. There were more leaves on the ground than on the trees. Walking on the riding trails around the property was a crunchy endeavor today.  The blue jays didn’t seem to mind the noise, but did flit away when I stopped walking.

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A Look Back to the Fisher Acquisition

At the end of the month, the National Park Service is turning 100 years old.  While your support of NPC hasn’t resulted in any acreage being added to National Parks it has resulted in over 6,000 acres being added to Pennsylvania’s State Forests, State Game Lands, some acreage going to a municipal park, and another conservation organization maintaining a property for public recreational use.

Fisher Acquisition_2Another property NPC’s members helped get into public ownership was the Fisher Acquisition. NPC took title in 1995 to the 79.7 acre parcel in Lycoming County.  This property had once been a farm and its forest and fields provide wildlife habitat, protect the watershed and help retain the pastoral character of the Pine Creek valley.

The property is just across Pine Creek from the village of Cammal.  It is surrounded on three sides by State Forest Land, including the Miller Run Natural Area. The property also has frontage on Pine Creek and is within the view of both PA Route 414 and the Pine Creek Rail-trail. The property also abuts Trout Run, a major tributary of Pine Creek.

The Fisher Tract was transferred to DCNR in 1996.

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Celebrating Public Lands – A Look Back at the Flynn Acquisition

At the end of the month, the National Park Service is turning 100 years old.  While your support of NPC hasn’t resulted in any acreage being added to National Parks it has resulted in over 6,000 acres being added to Pennsylvania’s State Forests, State Game Lands, some acreage going to a municipal park, and another conservation organization maintaining a property for public recreational use.

Flynn (1)The Flynn Acquisition is 636 acres in Sullivan County. NPC’s members helped NPC acquire this property in 1993 and transfer it to the Bureau of Forestry for inclusion in what is now the Loyalsock State Forest in 1994.

Bordering Worlds End State Park on both sides of Loyalsock Creek, this large property was owned by an estate. The property was to be auctioned as part of the estate’s settlement.

The property didn’t just border the park; it was also partially surrounded by land of the Loyalsock State Forest. Part of the watershed of a small stream, High Flynn (copy - b)Rock Run, is also on the property as are steep sidehills that are part of the scenic viewshed from the park. Over a mile of the Loyalsock Trail, a popular hiking trail, passes through the property.

With the support of NPC’s members, at the auction NPC was the high bidder for this important property.

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Open Space is a Sponge

storm gurgleYesterday, June 28, 2016, the Williamsport area received over two inches of rain in about an hour. That’s a lot of rain. In a short period of time.

The photo on the left is of a storm drain in Montoursville (a borough about 6 miles east of Williamsport) on one of the streets that wasn’t draining. In fact, this is a photo of water bubbling up out of the storm drain. There was so much water already in the storm sewers and it was under so much pressure, it pushed up, out of the drain while more water was waiting to use the drain.

I’m sure you’re thinking, “Okay, this is interesting, but what does this have to do with NPC?”  Well, unpaved ground (think dirt, forest floor, grass, planted farm fields, etc) soaks up and absorbs ground water, like a sponge. Once you cover up the surface, with a house, larger building, paved street, brick sidewalk, etc. you remove the ability of the water to enter the ground, and the water “runs off.”

flooded streetThe theory used to be to get the run-off water out of the way as soon as possible. You wanted to move the water into the street and into the storm drain. The storm drains would then carry the water away and discharge it into, typically, a creek or river. Out of sight and out of mind.

However, as we’ve built more houses, created more parking lots, and paved more streets we’ve covered up more ground. Areas that could absorb water 5, 10, or 15 years ago are now adding water to the storm drains. More water in the storm drains, means more run-off into our creeks and rivers. More water entering the creek or river can create more flooding along the creek or river.

Typically, this run-off water picks up speed as it runs down the street, down the storm drain, and into the creek or river. Again, the thought in the past was to get it out of the way as soon as possible. The higher speed can also create habitat problems. The speed of the water can move the rocks and gravel on the stream bottom and also cause erosion, adding sediment to the stream.

So, the more open areas there are, the more water will be absorbed. Once that water is absorbed it becomes groundwater. Over time, the groundwater is slowly released into streams, creeks, and rivers. This slow release over time allows waterways to maintain water levels during summer months and also helps regulate the temperature in streams.

Thank you to all the members, donors, supporters, and partners who help conserve open space in northcentral PA. You may not have realized it, but you’re also reducing stormwater and increasing groundwater.

If you’re interested in learning more about stormwater, check out the Center for Stormwater Management.

 

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Nichols Run Conservation Easement Completed

Nichols Run_2015Northcentral Pennsylvania is characterized by its fields and, especially, by its forests. Because they are widespread features of the landscape it may sometime be difficult to see the need to protect these vital resources. But subdivision, fragmentation and conversion to other uses continue to threaten the economic and ecological viability of our forests and agriculture and the quality of all of our lives.

Recently another portion of the region’s intact woodland was forever protected from subdivision when 155 acres in western Lycoming County were conserved by the donation of a conservation easement to the Northcentral Pennsylvania Conservancy.

Nichols Run 2015 (13)Although portions of the property had once been farmed, most of the soils are more suitable to growing trees than crops and active farming ended many years ago. Now those old fields are reverting to woodland to join the more than 100 forested acres that were not cleared for agriculture. The wooded acres are very diverse: mixed oak and hickory forests predominate, but there are also areas dominated by hemlock, white pine, birch and maple woodland.

However, it’s not just woodland that makes this property special, there’s also over 3,600 feet of Nichols Run, designated a High Quality-Cold Water Fishery. Nichols Run is a tributary of Pine Creek and flows into the larger stream just west of Jersey Shore. Special protection has been afforded to the woodland Nichols Run 2015 (2)bordering the stream and its unnamed tributaries to protect water quality and the aquatic life in the waterway.

As it passes through the newly conserved property, Nichols Run Road is a very scenic drive and the woodland along over 4,000 of the road was also guaranteed special protection to protect its scenic qualities.

NPC and residents of northcentral Pennsylvania will forever be grateful to the landowners who had the foresight to protect this beautiful property that helps to filter our water, cleanse our air, provide wildlife habitat, yield forest products and enhance the beauty of our area.

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The Ash are Dying! The Ash are Dying!

Emerald Ash Borer_infested treeThis may sound a bit like Paul Revere warning about the British, but it’s actually about the wave of dying trees, white ash and green ash, that’s sweeping across northcentral Pennsylvania. It’s not the loggers or arborists that are killing the ash trees;they’re just salvaging or removing the dying trees before those trees are totally worthless or pose a danger to people or property.

Which brings the question“Why are the ash trees dying?”The trees are dying because they’re being attacked by the emerald ash borer, an insect less than an inch long and is well named since it is, indeed, emerald green. It was introduced in packing material in shipments from northeast Asia. First detected in Michigan in 2002, it has since spread to many other states killing an estimated 50 million ash trees as it has moved east across the range of native ashes.

Emerald Ash Borer_emergence holeSix or seven years ago ash trees began showing light patches on their bark. Those light patches are created when woodpeckers flake off the outer bark’s ridges as they search for emerald ash borer larvae. The woodpeckers’ feeding doesn’t harm the tree; it’s the beetle larvae feeding on the trees’ cambium layer and inner bark that actually kills the trees. When there are a lot of larvae the tree will die–and there are a LOT or larvae.

When the emerald ash borer attacks a tree the tree usually dies in about three years. Once the emerald ash borer moves into an area until almost all the ash trees are dead usually takes less than ten years. So, it’s not the loggers or arborists that are killing the trees, it’s that pretty little beetle.Adult emerald ash borers emerge through tree’s bark through“D”-shaped holes, usually in May or June. They then mate and females lay their eggs on the bark of ash trees in July. When the eggs hatch, the larvae bore through the bark and begin feeding, which continues through the fall.The larvae over-winter in the tree, pupate and metamorphose into adults to begin the cycle again.

Landowners are salvaging their ash trees as they die or even before, as dead ash trees deteriorate very quickly and become worthless. Since the trees deteriorate so rapidly, affected ash trees in urban and suburban settings quickly become a threat as branches and large limbs break off and fall.There is no spray that can reach larvae beneath the bark. Although there are insecticides that can be injected into valuable individual ash shade trees or applied to the soil beneath the tree, the treatments must be applied repeatedly. These are not practical and much too expensive to use in woodland. There are some promising biological controls being tested, these are primarily insect parasites of emerald ash borers eggs or larvae.

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Mexico Road Property Conserved!

No, the Northcentral Pennsylvania Conservancy (NPC) is not greatly expanding its coverage area, this Mexico Road is in northcentral Pennsylvania’s Montour County.

Mexico Road_Chilisquaque CreekChillisquaque Creek originates in the Muncy Hills on the Lycoming/Columbia County line, but for most of its length passes through Montour County before it finally flows into the Susquehanna River’s West Branch south of Milton. Unfortunately, for much of its length the stream is heavily impacted by agriculture.

The Montour County Conservation District has been actively working with landowners along the Creek and its tributaries to reduce the agricultural impacts and improve water quality. Many of these projects have been done through the stream restoration partnership NPC is involved with.

Mexico Road_Wheat FieldNow, with the finalization of a conservation easement on a 46 acre property with frontage on Chillisquaque Creek in Montour County NPC has acted to protect a portion of the stream. The property contains seven acres of prime agricultural soils and 37 acres of agricultural soils of statewide importance; the fields have been leased to a neighboring farmer and will remain in agricultural production.

There are approximately five acres of woodland on an excellent growing site that comprise a riparian buffer between the cropland and Chillisquaque Creek. Riparian buffers such as this protect water quality by filtering out the silt and chemicals before they enter the stream.

The easement donor’s family has owned the property for many years, although he has lived out-of-state. But, he felt it was time to move on in life and pass the property on to someone else. At the same time, housing development has been moving into what had been an area of family farms, and the owner wanted to insure that the property would not become part of a roadside housing development.

Now there is a conservation easement on the property held by NPC and the easement donor will be selling the property to a nearby farmer who is enlarging his operations. The conservation easement’s limit on development made the property more affordable for agricultural purposes. The conservation easement requires use of best management practices on cropland and protects the existing riparian buffer.

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White-tailed Deer

fluorescent orange guyThis past Monday was the beginning of antlered deer hunting season in PA. Statewide the general firearms season runs until December 12, 2015. So, if you’re going to be in the woods or on the trails Saturday it’s certainly a good idea to wear the required fluorescent orange, even if you’re not hunting. Here’s a handy graphic to help you remember that hunters are required to wear 250 square inches of fluorescent orange on their head, chest, and back combined that is visible from 360 degrees. Even if you’re not hunting, make sure hunters can see you.

Deer_NicholasPA is home to the white-tailed deer, or Odocoileus virginianus. The name, white-tailed, reflects the underside of a deer’s tail which is covered with white hair. When a deer runs it often holds its tail erect so that the white undersurface is visible.  This photo doesn’t really give you a view of the white underside, but you can see how a deer holds its tail up (Charlie took this photo on the Nicholas Easement).

White–tailed deer are ruminants and like cattle have a four chambered stomach. Deer eat without chewing their food thoroughly. Later they lie down, regurgitate what they have eaten and chew more thoroughly.

White-tailed deer are herbivores.  In winter white-tailed deer eat between four and seven pounds of woody browse (twigs and shoots) each day as well as dried leaves, fallen acorns and fungi. That’s a lot of woody browse.

rFJ3uDdtkdRbt6DWvniWom0FUPEyYNReoLRWRAhbK0cBecause of their diet of tough fibrous twigs, leaves, acorns and other vegetation, a deer’s age can be determined by checking the wear on their teeth. Wildlife biologists will examine jaw bones of harvested deer to determine the age of harvested deer. These numbers then help them estimate age class structure.

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Changing of the Leaves

ButternutSome leaves begin changing in mid to late August, but as the season progresses into September more and more trees begin changing color. Among the first to change are black walnut and its close, but much less common, relative butternut (photo on the right). These species tend to set leaves late in the spring and lose their leaves early in the autumn but they grow rapidly nonetheless. The leaves of both species normally turn pale yellow or tan and fall soon after.
Black, yellow and white birch leaves (below) also normally turn color early in the fall and also become yellow, but a much brighter yellow than either walnut or butternut. In our area, black birch is Birch, Blackby far the most common of the birches, growing in both moist and dry sites and frequently seeding in on sites disturbed by logging or wind throw. Here, yellow birch is confined to cool moist sites, usually in deep valleys or high elevation wetlands. White birch is close to the southern limit of its rage in northcentral Pennsylvania where it is most commonly found as scattered individuals on ridgetops or where severe forest fires killed most other trees.