Pennsylvania’s diverse wildlife has nearly 500 additional acres forever protected across the state thanks to local conservationists and a $3.5 million commitment from The Nature Conservancy in Pennsylvania.

The newly protected habitat includes a riparian corridor along the pristine French Creek near Meadville in Northwestern Pennsylvania’s Crawford County, endangered Bog Turtle habitat in Cherry Valley in Northeastern Pennsylvania, woodland vernal pools at Minsi Lake in Northampton County and South Mountain in Cumberland County, and old-growth forests at Woodbourne Preserve near Dimock.

The 50-year-old conservation organization, whose mission is to protect the diversity of life on earth, identified five critical parcels that are habitat for Pennsylvania’s unique biodiversity and, through acquisition and conservation easements, took action to protect the land for future generations.

The acquired riparian corridor along French Creek, a major tributary of the Allegheny River, comprises forests and floodplains as well as 1,800 feet of frontage on the famed river. French Creek is the most biologically diverse river in the northeastern United States and contains 28 species of native mussels and 89 species of native fish, including almost all of the native species that were present when George Washington followed the river before the French and Indian War. It is possibly the only river in the entire Ohio drainage whose ecosystem remains this intact.

The riparian forests along the river create a migratory funnel for birds on their way to Lake Erie and beyond, and the watershed contains Pennsylvania’s largest wetland and most of the natural glacial lakes found in Northwestern Pennsylvania.

“We’re delighted to protect French Creek, one of our state’s aquatic treasures. In addition to its ecological importance, we’re proud this property is The Nature Conservancy’s most recent land acquisition in western Pennsylvania,” said Bill Kunze, The Nature Conservancy’s state director in Pennsylvania.

“Protection of this property, which includes streamside forests, will help safeguard countless aquatic species including a number of rare mussels and freshwater fish which thrive in this relatively intact and pristine watershed,” added Darran Crabtree, director of conservation science at the Conservancy’s French Creek Project.

The streamside forests on The Nature Conservancy land offer critical riparian protection to the rich aquatic species, plants and animals found here. Wooded areas act as natural filters for runoff and sediment and help maintain high water quality. The site is especially ecologically valuable because of its proximity to some of the best rare mussel and fish habitats on Earth. This section of French Creek harbors a rich population of northern riffleshell, a federally endangered freshwater mussel. This species, along with others such as clubshell has disappeared from approximately 95 percent of its original range throughout the Mid-West. As a result, many mussel species in French Creek and the Allegheny River represent the best remaining populations available.

Protection of French Creek helps address numerous threats to this natural area. They include increased inappropriate development and the spread of invasive species such as the tenacious zebra mussel. Loss of riverbank stability and riparian forests, as well as increases in nutrient run-off, can lower water quality and impact the rich variety of aquatic life found here.

Funding for this acquisition comes, in part, from support of French Creek area residents and riverside neighbors. Additional funding was provided by grants from The Gott Family Foundation, Drs. Carolyn and Paul Rizza, and the Bonnie and Joe Kies Land Acquisition Fund. The Kies Fund provides a one-to-one match to the Nature Conservancy for conservation work in the French Creek area. In addition to maximizing donor dollars in the French Creek area, the Kies Fund also provides for matching funds for the Conservancy’s work throughout Pennsylvania.

For more information, visit The Nature Conservancy/Pennsylvania webpage.

NewsClip: Conservancy Buys 17 Acres to Help Preserve French Creek

1/5/2007