The Westmoreland County Conservation District will present two awards for outstanding conservation service on September 12 at its annual Awards Reception, which runs from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. at the District’s location on Donohoe Road in Greensburg.

Receiving awards are-- Lewis and Kate Lobdell-- Conservation Farmer of the Year; and The Westmoreland Woodlands Improvement Association-- J. Roy Houston Conservation Partnership Award.

-- Lewis and Kate Lobdell -- 2019 Conservation Farmers of the Year (Forest Steward): The Lobdells are a different kind of farmer.  Their ‘crops’ are trees and their goal is not food production but a healthier and more diverse forest; one that supports native flora and fauna for the long term.

Lewis and Kate have been farming, or in more traditionally used terms, stewarding forest land in Ligonier, Cook and Unity townships for more than 20 years.  “We have to have a longer time horizon than a traditional farmer,” Lewis explained, as it can take decades for forest trees to reach optimum size.

The Lobdells have been working toward their goal systematically, following the guidance of several Forest Stewardship Plans prepared over the past 15 years by the conservation district.  The plans lay out a series of site-specific steps for managing the various aspects of the land, including the trees, wildlife, and waterways.

The Lobdells also follow the recommendations of a wildlife management plan the U.S. Natural Resources Conservation Service-PA prepared for their property.

Over the years, the Lobdells have implemented a number of important conservation practices, including removing acres of autumn olive, honeysuckle, Japanese stilt grass, and other invasive plant species; cleaning up what had once been an unsanctioned community dump on their property; and turning the opening of two pocket coal mines into a vernal pond for wildlife.

They have been regenerating a 24-acre area on the crest of the ridge that had been strip-mined by a previous owner, the soil left so compacted that little grew there.  After spraying to kill the invasive plants, the Lobdells planted switch grass on the site last summer, and the area is now attracting turkeys and grouse. 

In time, the switch grass will develop deep roots that can penetrate the compacted clay soil.  And it also can be baled as hay.

In another area of their property, the Lobdells created a specialized habitat for a migratory songbird, the golden winged warbler, which has suffered near extirpation in the Appalachian Mountains.

The Lobdells also have installed fencing to protect the young plants and saplings they planted (including more than 1,200 shrubs as a field border) from browsing deer, added subsurface drainage, and are looking into additional conservation programs, including one that involves carbon sequestration.

Lewis completed the 40-hour Pennsylvania Forest Stewards training at Penn State University.

For the past five years, he has served on the board of The American Chestnut Foundation and was instrumental in steering that organization toward the development of a genetically engineered chestnut tree that uses a gene from wheat to protect it from the chestnut blight.

Kate serves on the advisory board for the Carnegie Museum of Natural History’s Powdermill Nature Reserve, and has been volunteering with the Westmoreland Land Trust, applying her legal expertise to help the organization negotiate its largest to-date land acquisition (soon to be announced).

--  Westmoreland Woodlands Improvement Association -- 2019 J. Roy Houston

Conservation Partnership Award: The Westmoreland Woodlands Improvement Association, a group of nearly 100 area citizens who share an interest in caring for trees, forests, and woodlots, is celebrating 30 years of helping private forest owners to be good stewards of these valuable natural resources.

The group provides an important conservation service, as 91 percent of the woodland in Westmoreland County is privately owned.*

Well-managed woodlands benefit the larger community in important ways, contributing to water quality by acting like a natural filter for rain, and improving air quality by reducing greenhouse gasses.

Beyond these larger benefits, properly stewarded woodlots benefit their owners as well, in ways that range from providing income from harvesting timber to the passive pleasure of creating habitat for wildlife.

The all-volunteer, non-profit Westmoreland Woodlands Improvement Association sponsors lectures, field trips, and workshops on the variety of forest-related topics that members are interested in, and the public is always welcome to attend.

Foresters have led the group on a “Winter Woods Tree Identification” walk, botanical experts have talked about forest mushrooms and ginseng, and managers of the Ames sawmill in Donegal Township recently invited the group to tour its production facility, which gets its wood from the local area.

One of the largest-attended offerings was a lawyer speaking on oil and gas rights during the height of the Marcellus gas-well-drilling interest.

The woodlands group also introduces its members to a variety of forest-related resources, including current news links and organizations and programs such as the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, the Pennsylvania Tree Farm Program, Penn State Extension’s forest and woodlot resources, and the Pennsylvania Forestry Association.

In addition to a newsletter, the association created a website in 2010 and a blog in 2018. Members sometimes participate in community projects, such as they did recently by helping to plant trees in Ann Rudd Saxman Nature Park.

Some members of the association have received certifications from the American Tree Farm System and the Pennsylvania Forest Stewardship Program.  Some also have formal stewardship plans for their woodlot.

In 2015, husband and wife WWIA members Janet Sredy and Raul Chiesa received a national honor for their work rehabilitating blighted woodlands near the Rostraver Airport. 

“WWIA has given us some of the tools we needed to turn the property around and helped put us in touch with experts, from service foresters to wildlife diversity biologists, who contributed their expertise to reclaim the land," says Ms. Sredy.

70th Anniversary Marked

At the September 12 event, the Westmoreland Conservation District also will pay a nod to its own 70th anniversary.

DJ Pete Highlands will play music from the 1940s and 1950s, and 1946 and 1948 Nash automobiles will be on display.

The Westmoreland Conservation District was established in 1949, when local farmers, seeking help to conserve their soil and water resources, approached the County Commissioners.

As the county has grown and changed in the 70 years since then, the District has responded with new programs to help ensure minimal negative impact on all aspects of the county’s natural wealth-- its soils, forests, streams, and open space-- as well as its valuable, productive farmland.

In addition to its science-based efforts, the District serves as a clearinghouse for conservation information.

For more information on programs, assistance available, other upcoming events and more, visit the Westmoreland County Conservation District website.

(Photos: Lewis and Kate Lobdell and touring a Westmoreland County sawmill.)

NewsClips:

Click Here for Last Week’s Environment & Energy NewsClips

Related Article:

Finalists Selected For Pennsylvania Leopold Farm Conservation Award

[Posted: September 6, 2019]

9/9/2019