The House Tourism & Recreational Development Committee is scheduled to meet on November 10 to consider House Resolution 74 (Daley-D-Montgomery) directing the Legislative Budget and Finance Committee to conduct a study of wildlife conservation corridors.

This resolution was first introduced in January 2020 last session as House Resolution 670.

Background

Pennsylvania hosts a magnificent diversity of plants and wildlife, including 3,000 species of plants, 400 species of birds, 200 species of fish, 75 species of reptiles and amphibians, and 70 species of mammals.  Including invertebrates and fungi, there are more than 25,000 species documented in the state. 

But Pennsylvania habitats—forests, streams, and meadows—are changing.  Besides the core challenges of habitat loss and fragmentation, additional stressors on wildlife include invasive species, pollution, disease, and climate change.

These stressors are degrading or eliminating the places wildlife call home, causing them to move to find safe places to shelter, eat, and reproduce.

Connected habitat-- including unrestricted rivers/streams, large, unfragmented blocks of forests, and patches of grasslands and barrens within a larger landscape-- is important to supporting Pennsylvania’s biodiversity.

For example, fisher, eastern woodrat, black bear, and bobcat all need large, unfragmented forests for habitat.

Small-scale connected habitats across the landscape are also important, such as tree hollows, mossy carpets on rocks, leeward crevices on rocky ridges, and ephemeral ponds in deep forests for birds, turtles, frogs, and other smaller animals and invertebrates.

In areas with fragmented habitat, conservation corridors can help our species survive the stressors they face. Corridors take many forms:

-- A parcel of private woodland that connects two state parks allowing black bears to roam to find wild food sources.

-- A stream culvert designed to allow animals and fish to pass under a road.

-- A small wetland strip in a suburban area that allows a box turtle to move to a favorite wet meadow.

-- A trail of milkweed along a utility-right-of-way supporting monarch butterflies and the movement of many other field and forest creatures.

-- An under- or overpass crossing a multilane highway, offering a safe passageway for both small and large wildlife species and reducing wildlife road collisions with vehicles.

Stressors on wildlife are increasing.

Development, existing roads, invasive species, pollution, and climate change all constrain wildlife movement in Pennsylvania.

Wildlife face pinch points across the landscape where they are hindered in their movement. Minimizing these pinch points and providing connectivity between high-quality habitats is important at the scale of a residential yard to hundreds of miles of mountain ridges and for many habitat sizes in between.

Many species would benefit from corridors, including species of conservation concern, game species, and species that are common (to help keep them plentiful in the future).

Conservation corridors also help keep wildlife populations genetically strong by allowing young to disperse and adult populations to intermix more easily.

The meeting will be held in Room G-50 of the Irvis Building Off The Floor, which means it could be held at any time after voting session November 10.  Click Here to watch online.

Rep. David Millard (R-Columbia) serves as Majority Chair of the House Tourism and Recreational Development Committee and can be contacted by calling 717-783-1102 or send email to: dmillard@pahousegop.com. Rep. Mary Jo Daley (D-Montgomery) serves as Minority Chair and can be contacted by calling 717-787-0861 or send email to: repmaryjodaley@pahouse.net. 

Related Articles:

-- New Report Outlines Key Ways To Reconnect Nature Through Wildlife Corridors

-- PA Environmental Council Podcast: Why We Need Wildlife Corridors

-- Guest Essay: Pennsylvania Conservation Corridors & Ecological Connectivity

--  What Conservation Corridors & Habitat Connectivity Could Mean For PA Wildlife, Biodiversity

[Posted: November 3, 2021]

11/8/2021