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DCNR Designates Wild Plant Sanctuaries In Four Counties
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The Department of Conservation and Natural Resources this week announced the dedication of properties in Chester, Montgomery, Washington and Westmoreland counties as Wild Plant Sanctuaries. DCNR will designate Duff Park in Murrysville, Westmoreland County, and Robison Acres, a private property in Washington County, as Pennsylvania in a public ceremony on September 15 at 7 p.m. at the Murrysville Municipal Building, 4100 Sardis Road, Murrysville.
Duff Park is an extraordinary place located less than 20 miles east of Pittsburgh. Murrysville's first community park, this 147-acre conservation-oriented park occupies a forested hillside above Turtle Creek. The park supports over 60 species of wildflowers and rare old growth woodlands that draw a steady stream of visitors to its five miles of trails.
Robison Acres encompasses 33 acres owned by John and Betty Robison. It is mostly wooded with oak, hickory and varieties of maple including black maple. A spring-fed stream provides a home for salamanders, frogs and even a few snapping turtles. Its woods and fields support Christmas and maidenhair ferns, Solomon's seal, wild columbine, butterfly weed, penstemon and a long list of other native plants.
The agency will also designate portions of three preserves owned by Natural Lands Trust in Chester and Montgomery counties as sanctuaries--
-- The Unionville Barrens on Natural Lands Trust's ChesLen Preserve (Newlin Township, Chester County). Situated along the West Branch of the Brandywine Creek, the 1,263-acre ChesLen Preserve is the largest private nature preserve in southeastern Pennsylvania. Serpentine barrens derive their name from the presence of serpentinite, a type of rare, greenish bedrock from which the soils are weathered. The soil's peculiar chemical characteristics— high in magnesium and nickel and low in calcium— make it inhospitable to all but a few tenacious plant species that have adapted to these extreme conditions.
-- The Sugartown Serpentine Barrens on Natural Lands Trust's Willisbrook Preserve (Willistown Township, Chester County). The 126-acre preserve includes just over 20 acres of serpentine barrens that support a diversity of rare plants. NLT preserves and maintains this unique ecosystem through periodic controlled burning of the grassy barrens, which prevents the neighboring woodlands from overtaking the rare ecosystem.
-- The Fulshaw Craeg Preserve (Salford Township, Montgomery County). The 298-acre Fulshaw Craeg Preserve is situated in a wild and rugged valley. Ridge Valley Creek, edged by beautiful wildflower meadows, runs through the property. The meadows support a variety of plant species of special concern, as well as butterflies and birds that rely on the habitat for food and shelter.
Many of the plants found on the three Natural Lands Trust, or NLT, sites are species of special concern. NLT has been actively managing these preserves to protect the unique ecological features that allow the rare species to thrive. The sites also provide habitat for a number of threatened or endangered butterfly species.
"When it comes to conservation, it's important to have good role models," DCNR Secretary John Quigley said. "We are pleased to recognize these landowners for their voluntary work protecting our diversity of plants, and happy to point to them as examples for others to follow."
"We are thrilled to have three of our nature preserves designated as Wild Plant Sanctuaries," said Molly Morrison, NLT's president. "We believe that protecting open spaces from development is only the first step in conservation; we are equally committed to managing and restoring our lands to ensure ecological excellence and sustainability. The presence of these rare plants at our preserves is a wonderful validation of our land stewardship practices."
NLT owns and manages 41 nature preserves totaling over 21,000 acres, and holds conservation easements and other restrictions exceeding 18,000 acres.
The Wild Plant Sanctuary Program was created through the Wild Resource Conservation Act of 1982 to establish a voluntary statewide network of native plant sanctuaries. Landowners agree to protect the area and educate others about the importance of native and wild plants and habitats. In return, they receive assistance with a management plan if needed, and have access to technical assistance and ecological checkups.
Other wild plant sanctuaries include a 7.6-acre property owned by Michael and Barbara Yavorosky in Lackawanna and Wayne Counties, designated in June 2009, and the Ned Smith Center for Nature and Art, a 500-acre site near Millersburg that was designated on July 22, 2010.
For more information about the Wild Plant Sanctuary Program, contact DCNR's Bureau of Forestry at 717-787-3444 or send email to: RA-PAPlandSanctuary@state.pa.us, or visit DCNR's Wild Plant Sanctuaries webpage.
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9/13/2010 |
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