Are you planning to plant some trees,
shrubs, or flowers this year? Contact your County Conservation District office
to find out if they’re having a tree sale. A lot of the Conservation Districts collect
tree orders in February with the trees arriving in April.
Photos of some of the plants at the Columbia County Conservation District’s 2021 plant and tree sale. It was a rainy day, perfect for the plants. Photo courtesy of Columbia County Conservation District.
Planning now helps ensure you are
going to be able to get the species you want. Some of the more popular trees
and shrubs can sell out.
Sugaring season begins in late
February. Sugaring is a lot of work. It’s also generational work. The sugar
maple trees planted today won’t be ready to be tapped for at least 15 to 20
years, maybe more. Are there projects in your woods that you are getting started
so the next generation can enjoy the results?
On the left a tap dripping sap into a bucket, and on the right a bucket hanging on a tree with a cover keepting debris out of the sap. Both photos coutesy of Bob Stoudt.
Montour Preserve and several state
parks offer sugaring programs. Check out their events page to see if there are any
programs near you.
Winter can be a great time to walk in the woods. The snow and ice and cold need to be considered but can be overcome. A traction system for your shoes can be one way to make your wintering outings in the woods safer. There are a variety of brands out there, but most of them pull onto your boots and use chains, springs, and pieces of pointy metal to help you get traction on slippery snow and ice. While it’s almost the end of February, the snow and ice can hang on in shaded areas in the woods.
One type of winter traction system that pulls on over your “regular” boots.
Have you ever noticed mosses still growing as you take
walks during our winter season? They seem to be everywhere – between slabs of the
sidewalk, on brick foundations, tree trunks or under them, cliff sides, rocks,
on dirt and rooftops. They have always amazed me, so underfoot, and many times,
so unappreciated! Having diverged from green algae about 500 million years ago,
they evolved to become an extremely important part of all land ecosystems. They
promote soil formation with the addition of dead tissues, grow where other
plants having roots cannot, hold moisture to use and pass on to other
organisms. Mosses are Bryophytes, members of the Phylum Bryophyta, along
with the other ancient plants, Liverworts and Hornworts. All are nonflowering
(using spores to reproduce), have stem-like rhizoids (rather than true
roots), diffuse water and nutrients through cell walls (instead of having a system
of veins). Many plant scientists consider them the “coral reefs of the
forest” for the benefits they provide, even though small and having leaves
only one cell thick. Mosses play important roles storing and filtering
nutrients and water that forests need to survive and grow.
Moss is a perfect nursery for Hemlock seedlings that can dry out quickly and die.
Mosses contain chlorophyll to make their own food, using
sunlight and the process of photosynthesis, in order to grow and reproduce.
They “exhale” oxygen into the atmosphere as a by-product. They
provide food, water, shelter and cover for many small invertebrates, like
insects. Humans have not been shy about reaping and using mosses for many of
their requirements: fuel, insulation for dwellings and clothing, bedding,
diapering, bandaging, roofing, gardening. One thing we do not use moss for is
food. The complex carbohydrates of most mosses would take more energy to digest
than we would gain from eating them! However, research has discovered them to
be anti-bacterial, anti-fungal, and anti-viral. Folks living in London,
England, are using different kinds of mosses in structures they call artificial
trees. Where they are positioned throughout the city, the moss containers
absorb particulates, carbon dioxide and nitrogen oxides from the atmosphere
while producing oxygen and keeping the surrounding air cooler. It is possible
that mosses may provide yet to be discovered solutions to problems caused by
climate fluctuations. They are much better equipped than other plants due to
their worldwide distribution and their ability to soak up and hold
moisture.
A downside for the mosses in this arrangement is a slow
growth rate, a quarter inch to two inches per year depending on the species. We
will need to be judicious in our harvesting of mosses. When all of the moss is
stripped from a log or rock, it can take twenty years for it to recover.
Leaving one-third to one-half of the moss in patches can shorten the recovery
time to ten years. Log moss is one of the ten most sought-after, non-timber
products in Pennsylvania. Both the PA Game Commission and DCNR prohibit
removal of plants from their lands.
Winter can be a great time to visit potential stream projects. With no leaves on the trees and other vegetation dead or dormant it’s easier to see the streambanks and what’s going on. Snow on the ground or ice on the stream stop the visits.
So far, the stream team has been able to get out to quite a few sites. At this site in Union County (above), Austen was able to “check out” the substrate on the stream bottom. By walking around he can use his feet to feel what’s underneath the water. Does he kick up a lot of sediment? Is it stone or muck? How big do the stones feel? How much wiggle room do the stones have?
You can see at this Union County site he had a small trail of sediment behind him as he walked up stream.
At the site shown above in Northumberland County, the snow-ice on the ground didn’t hinder design, but the skim of ice at the edges didn’t allow all the final design to happen.
While we crossed the stream in the shallower spots, the water was cold enough and deep enough Austen didn’t check out the subtrate here. The team developed a general concept and will be back in March to do a “final” design for permitting and ordering supplies.
The PA Dept. of Agriculture has added this particular berry-making plant (Berberis thunbergii) to its noxious weed list as of October 8, 2021, banning its sale or cultivation. Nurseries and landscapers will have a two-year period to phase out its use in this state.
Japanese barberry’s widespread distribution in our forests where it can thrive anywhere from deep shade to sunny edges + the fact that in some places it has become a dominant understory plant since our large deer population appears to eat just about everything else and leaves it alone to reproduce + the research that has shown increased populations of the black-legged or deer ticks, known transmitters of Lyme disease, occur in areas where it abounds = three good reasons why this plant became a good candidate for the noxious weed list!
Birds are great spreaders of seeds.
You can identify Japanese barberry during the winter when its red berries stand out against its brown twigs and sticks and by carefully checking for its armament. It is armed – with single, pointed spines growing near where the leaves used to be, on opposite sides of twigs. This plant differs from another non-native species, European barberry, Berberis vulgaris, also found growing in PA, that has three-pronged spines. Our very own native American Barberry (Berberis canadensis) also has three-pronged spines – or rather – HAD three-pronged spines. It is one of about 104 species of plants that have been judged “extirpated” or no longer existing within PA. American barberry does grow wild in West Virginia southward to Georgia, however.
Twig showing berries and single spine.
Just because barberry is considered a noxious weed in some places doesn’t mean it hasn’t had a long and interesting history of usefulness to mankind. The ancient Egyptians used it in a syrup with fennel to prevent the plague. Dried and fresh roots were used to make a colorfast yellow dye for cloth, leather, and wood. Berries were made into jams and jellies or without sweetener, provided an acidic kick to the taste of salads. Berberine, a constituent of these plants, actually fluoresces under ultraviolet light, making cells under a microscope easier to study. It is used in medicines for everything from heart failure to burns and eye infections. Can’t judge a plant wholly by its aggressiveness!
The Northcentral Pennsylvania
Conservancy (NPC) is a regional land trust working in 12-counties to conserve
and enhance the lands and waters of northcentral Pennsylvania. This work
supports the environmental well-being and recreational needs of local
communities.
The
Land Stewardship Specialist (LSS) ensures all of the conservation easements
held by the Northcentral Pennsylvania Conservancy are monitored annually for compliance.
The LSS also reviews requests by landowners of eased properties, works with landowners
interested in donating a conservation easement, and works with staff on
communications.
The
position is part-time and expected to be 15 to 20 hours a week. This may require
evening and weekend hours. The person will report to the Executive Director and
work out of the office (approximately 1/3), presently located in Williamsport,
PA, but also travel extensively throughout the region (approximately 2/3) when
visiting conservation easements.
Responsibilities
Include but are not limited to:
Conservation Easement
Monitoring
Develop
and implement a plan for the regular monitoring of all conservation easements
held by Northcentral Pennsylvania Conservancy
Contact
owner’s of property under easement with the Northcentral Pennsylvania
Conservancy to schedule monitoring visit
Conduct
monitoring of conservation easements held by Northcentral Pennsylvania
Conservancy
Prepare
reports and correspondence based on monitoring
Maintain
conservation easement inspection files.
Review Requests for Approval of Conservation
Easement Permitted Activities
Coordinate
with Executive Director to ensure all
requests are processed in a timely manner
Review
the request to determine if it’s allowed by easement
Evaluate
the impact on the conservation values
Prepare
a recommendation for review and discussion with the Executive Director
Conduct
site visits, as needed, to ensure the activity is being implemented as
approved, and as appropriate
Prepare
reports and notes documenting the process and follow-up
Conservation Easement Drafting
Respond
to landowner requests for information about conservation easements
Conduct
site visits and undertake basic research on a property’s conservation values
Prepare
draft documents – including, but not limited to conservation easements and
baseline documentation reports
Budgeting/Planning
Prepare a yearly workplan
Assist in preparing budget figures for easement monitoring, and other projects as directed by Executive Director as requested
Assist Executive Director in grant writing and fundraising as requested
Communications
These tasks would be done in coordination with other staff:
Provide photos from site
visits and text to be used on the Northcentral Pennsylvania Conservancy’s
social media accounts
Write at least one article
quarterly for the organization’s newsletter.
Maintain a photo file for
each project.
Qualifications:
A
passion for the conservation of open spaces
Clearly
demonstrated experience and skills related to the performance of the above
responsibilities, such as past experience with land management including, but
not limited to road building, erosion and sedimentation controls, and
management plan writing
Strong
written and verbal communication skills
Attention
to detail. Ability to work accurately,
independently, and efficiently.
Ability
to interact and communicate with people in one-on-one situations.
Experience
in developing work plans, and successfully executing work plans
A valid driver’s license and reliable
transportation
Ability to walk a minimum of 4 miles over rough
and uneven terrain.
Ability
to navigate or way find through unmapped terrain passion for the conservation of
open spaces.
Ability
to map locations and develop handouts showing the mapped location
Background
in forestry, ecological restoration, wildlife management, or similar field.
Clearly
demonstrated experience and skills related to the performance of the above
responsibilities, such as past experience with land management including, but
not limited to road building, erosion and sedimentation controls, and
management plan writing
Compensation:
This is a part-time position. The pay range is $15.00
to $20.00 an hour based on experience with both land management and
conservation easements.
To Apply:
Please send a cover letter, resume, and three
references to Renee’ Carey either by email (rcarey@npcweb.org)
or regular mail (Northcentral Pennsylvania Conservancy, PO Box 2083,
Williamsport, PA 17703).
Silly me! It isn’t the season for finding a Praying
Mantis in the garden, is it? Well, how about the next generation, hmm?
Late fall and winter are most excellent times to find
their egg cases attached to small leafless shrubs and trees. We found some on
our last hike – enough to make a certain grandpa I know, a star in the eyes of
his seven-year-old bug-crazy grandson!
Gently touch to test the toughness of the egg capsule.
Praying Mantis only live for about a year. The larger
female will deposit a frothy mass of eggs produced by glands in her abdomen on
stems and branches before she dies. The froth hardens, making a tough,
protective capsule for her progeny until they all break out at once as wingless
nymphs between mid-June and early July. You should be able to recognize the egg
capsules, or ootheca, if you have ever used expansion foam to fill cracks
around your home. They look just like it, small with a beige color that acts to
camouflage them nicely against the bark on which they are attached.
Blending in on a young oak tree.
The Praying Mantis got its name from the position of its
forelegs, held up and forward, as in an attitude of prayer. Those legs are
adaptations that allow them to better capture and hold the insects they eat.
Carnivores that only eat live food, they stalk their prey
with…slow…stealthy…movements…until… they…POUNCE – with amazing
speed and precision. Should we change their name to “preying,”
instead? They have a fine reputation as pest-eaters in gardens, but they show
no distinction between good bugs and bad bugs and will chow down on pollinators
like bees and butterflies as well!
In case you wanted a refresher on what an adult praying mantis looks like.Thank you Wayne Township Landfill for your support!
If you are someone who likes to
set goals based on the calendar year, think about what goals you could include
for your woods or your yard. What one thing do you want to do in your woods or
your yard this year? Are you thinking about ways to increase the habitat? Do
you want to diversify the plants (native versus introduced)? Or maybe you could
look at how to increase how much water will soak into the ground instead of
running off?
January is a great time to start
to research ideas and sketch out a calendar of action steps.
If you’re still implementing a goal from last year (sometimes you need a couple of growing cycles) you could look at funding sources that may be available to assist. Contact the Natural Resource Conservation Service office in the County your property is in about funding that is available. The Service Forester for the County may be able to provide technical assistance and direct you to funding. The Penn State Master Gardeners in your County are probably planning workshops and possibly a native plant sale.
Thank you to the Wayne Township Landfill for supporting the blog!
Van explaining what the collier’s job was and how charcoal was made.
In the photo above Van is showing a photo of a collier at a different property
next to his hut. The colliers were the woodsmen who cut trees and made the
charcoal. They often lived in the woods for weeks at a time to cut wood and tend
the charcoal burn.
I love trees, especially this time of year, when
leafless. They stand out so stark and sturdy against the sky. Sometimes, as a game,
I try to identify trees by their silhouettes as we pass them by in the car. I
look for hints of seeds, cones, leftover flower spikes, branch configuration.
There was no drive-by the day my cousin and I found this
lovely mystery tree as we hiked Chad’s Trail at Glacial Pools. The sky was just
perfect, a blue backdrop interrupted by wisps of cirrus clouds. We had to check
the clues.
Clue #1 Little cone-like strobiles that hold samaras or
double-winged seeds, oblong, 3/4 to 1 1/2 inches long, brownish, disintegrating.
Strobiles will gradually give way to the wind for dispersal
Clue #2 The bark – shiny, dark and smooth, not papery and
peeling. Many horizontal lines crossing the trunk – lenticels – corky pores
through the bark that provide direct air exchange with the tree’s internal
tissues.
Smooth, cling bark with lenticular
Clue #3 The twigs – dark brown, slender, hairless. Snap a
twig and sniff the broken end. Ah, the odor of wintergreen!
Perfect! Sweet Birch, Black Birch, Cherry Birch, Betula
lenta.
Sweet Birch, a native to Eastern North America, ranges
from Canada to the mountains of Georgia and Alabama. A USDA Forest Survey
indicates that it is most abundant in Massachusetts, Connecticut, New York, and
Pennsylvania. It is one of the species that has replaced American Chestnut
where it used to grow. Considered a pioneer species, it tends to grow quickly
when young and can grow from stump sprouts if the main trunk is cut or dies.
The shiny, smooth bark will become rough and in vertical flat plates as it ages
and will continue a pattern of split, peel, and replace throughout the rest of
its life which could be up to two hundred years! You can find them growing in
cool, moist uplands with hardwoods and conifers. They like the moist ,
well-drained soil of stream banks as well as dry, rocky soil of ledges.
It used to take one hundred saplings and trees to
manufacture just one quart of Birch oil, also called oil of wintergreen. Now
chemically produced methyl salicylate is used to flavor things like medicines,
candy and ice cream. Plus, you don’t have to tap the trees anymore to make
Birch Beer. I like chewing on a twig as I hike along to allay my thirst. Ha. I
just like the flavor!
Thank you Evergreen Wealth Solutions for supporting conservation!
When Tom and Beth Stubler wanted to spend more time fishing
on the St. Lawrence River and visiting their daughters and granddaughter they
decided to divest themselves of some properties they owned. This included a
two-thirds interest in approximately 600 acres in Montour County on the line
with Northumberland County.
Tom stopped by the Northcentral Pennsylvania Conservancy (NPC) office one day to see if NPC would be interested in accepting a donation of their interest in the property in Liberty Township. The property adjoins State Game Lands 115, so Tom thought NPC might be able to get some of the acreage into public ownership.
The current SGL 115 map updated to show the Stublers donation.
As members of NPC Tom and Beth knew NPC works with the
Pennsylvania Game Commission and Bureau of Forestry to increase the amount of
land available for the public to use, and to improve access to public land to
make it less difficult to use. Plus, Tom saw this as an opportunity to give
back.
“As a kid, that’s all I hunted was State Game Lands,” Tom
explained. “My family didn’t own any land to hunt on, so I hunted on State Game
Lands and appreciated having a place to hunt. When I realized we might be able
to help increase the amount of State Game Lands available it was a no-brainer.
If I can give another kid a place to hunt that would be great.”
NPC’s staff reached out to the Montour Area Recreation Commission (MARC) for more information about the location and to the Pennsylvania Game Commission to determine their interest. MARC was able to provide some very helpful information in understanding how the property fit on the landscape and the local recreational needs. The Pennsylvania Game Commission was interested in looking at the property and discussing how a project could proceed.
NPC set up a site visit that included the Pennsylvania Game Commission, MARC, Tom, and NPC. After seeing the property and how it fit in with the adjoining State Game Lands the Pennsylvania Game Commission was interested in working with NPC and the Stublers to get the acreage into public ownership.
After several meetings with the owner of the remaining one-third interest, the Pennsylvania Game Commission realized it would be most efficient for them to work directly with Tom and Beth on the donation instead of NPC receiving the donation from Tom and Beth, then working with the other landowner, before finally conveying the acreage to the Pennsylvania Game Commission.
The other owner wasn’t interested in selling his interest. He wanted one-third of the actual acreage. This meant discussing and understanding what areas of the property had the most sentimental value to the one-third owner, the various types of habitat on the property, what habitat areas have the most potential for the Game Commission’s wildlife management goals, how the road system connected, and thinking through the best way to set-up public access points and parking areas. That’s a lot. Everyone agreed it made the most sense for the Pennsylvania Game Commission to work directly with the one-third owner.
The Pennsylvania Game Commission accepted the two-thirds interest from Tom and Beth Stubler and worked through the process of surveying the property and preparing for a sub-division to separate about 200 acres off the parcel for the one-third landowner.
While NPC never took title to the property, Tom and Beth are convinced the project never would have happened without NPC’s staff helping them connect with the Pennsylvania Game Commission and helping to coordinate some of the early meetings and conversations. NPC’s “matchmaking” skills helped make this project a reality.
Most
of the land is a forested mix of oak, hemlock, hickory, and maple. There are of
blueberry, mountain laurel, and rhododendron in the shrub understory. A small stream
meanders through the property. The Game Commission has started implementing
their management plans for the property and neighbors to the property tell NPC
how much they are enjoying hiking the old roads on the property.
Montour Area Recreation Commission held a historic hike on the property recently.
