PENNSYLVANIA

Green-backed heron hunting ina restored wetland.

Photo: T. Wingert

“It is really quite interesting to note and observe how wildlife seem to migrate to the wetland. Once water is in place an impressive chain of life begins ... I have gotten, as have my family

and friends, a new impression of the interrelatedness of life forms. Stop by.” –Mike Cavanaugh

Introduction and GeneralDescription

Through its innovative Partners forFish and Wildlife Program, theU.S. Fish and Wildlife Serviceprovides technical advice andfunding to help landowners realizetheir goals of making their land abetter place for wildlife andpeople. The Partners for Fish andWildlife Program in Pennsylvaniabegan in 1989 and has beengrowing at a steady pace eversince. In Pennsylvania theprogram has focused on restoringseveral types of habitats. Mostrecently, the Partners Program hasbecome the lead agency inrestoring in-stream habitats. Fishand wildlife habitats that wereonce degraded are now providingimportant cover, food, water andbreeding areas for many species.

Pennsylvania Activities

U Wetland restorationU Grassland restorationU Riparian fencingU BioengineeringU Restoration of threatened and endangered species habitatU In-stream restoration

Habitats of SpecialConcern

Lost Habitats

Since European settlement in the1600s, Pennsylvania’s vast forests,wetlands, streams, and grasslandshave fueled the State’s growth anddevelopment. Many of the State’snatural resources were greatlydiminished or degraded as thelandscape was changed to makeroom for agricultural and urbandevelopment. More than half ofthe wetlands were drained or filled,99 percent the native grasslandswere converted to other uses, morethan 5,000 dams were constructedthat blocked fish movement, andmiles of stream were channelized. In addition, the extensive hemlock-white pine and hardwood forestswere cut and cleared.

As these habitats changed, so didthe fish and wildlife populationsthat relied on them, leading todeclines in waterfowl, grasslandnesting birds, anadromous fish,and many forest dependentspecies.

Positive Change

The outlook began to change in1987 when the Service launched

its Partners for Fish and WildlifeProgram. Recognizing that nearly80 percent of Pennsylvania’s landsare privately owned, the PartnersProgram began to forgepartnerships with privatelandowners to improve fish andwildlife habitats. Workingtogether, the Partners Program andprivate landowners, sometimeswith the help of other agencies andorganizations, are able to designand implement habitat restorationprojects to improve conditions forwildlife and meet the goals of thelandowner.

Before streambank fencing.

One year after fence installation.

Conservation Strategies

Wetland Restoration The Partners Program inPennsylvania focuses on wetlandrestoration because of theirimportance to migratory birds. Wetland restoration techniquesfocus on returning hydrology toformerly drained wetlands byremoving or disabling fielddrainage tiles and pluggingdrainage ditches. Restorationprojects are carefully crafted toblend into the surroundinglandscape and involve a variety ofactivities such as: creating micro-topography; establishingcomplexes of small seasonalwetlands; and, restoring largerpermanent wetlands.

Wetland restoration projects havefocused in the Lake Erie coastalplain, the glaciated areas ofnorthwestern Pennsylvania, andthe lower Susquehanna RiverBasin. These areas contain thedensest breeding populations ofwater birds in Pennsylvania.

The total costs for a wetlandrestoration project is $750 per acre.

Grassland Improvements

Grasslands are an essentialcomponent of nesting habitat formany species of neotropicalmigratory birds. The decline ofgrassland bird species such as thebobolink and eastern meadowlark,is directly correlated to the declineof grasslands in the Northeast. The Partners Program hascooperated with the PennsylvaniaGame Commission, PheasantsForever, Ducks Unlimited andCalifornia University ofPennsylvania to promote the use of

native grasses in agriculturalprograms, including rotationalgrazing systems. Other grasslandmanagement techniques includemowing, burning, planting bothwarm-season and cool-seasongrasses, and removing invasiveplant species.

The focus area for grasslandhabitat is in the southern half ofthe State. These region supportssome of the largest populations ofbirds that use grasslands and earlysuccession scrub/shrub habitat fornesting cover. Grasslandrestoration costs $200 to $250 peracre.

Stream and Riparian AreaRejuvenation

Streams and riparian (streamside)areas support fish, mussels,amphibians and serve as corridorsthat connect diverse fish andwildlife communities. ManyPennsylvania streams have been straightened, channelized and/oreroded and “armored” with stoneor other man-made materials. Pennsylvania also suffers moreflood damage than any other Statein the nation and the after-effectsof flooding often involve streamchannel clearing and dredging. Many of our streams are sensitiveto disturbance and are showing the

A student working with apainted turtle in an outdoorclassroom.

ill effects of a century ofmanipulation. In our agriculturalregions, we have hundreds of milesof streams and streamside habitatthat have been degraded from overa hundred years of intensivelivestock grazing. Many of thesestreams flow through limestonebuffered soils and once had verygood water quality, yet now theyresemble linear mud holes.

One restoration technique that iscost-effective and valued bylandowners is streambank fencing. The Partners Program provides theequipment and labor to managelivestock access to streams andstreamside habitat. Working withthe California University andPennsylvania Game Commissionwe are providing assistance to agreater number of privatelandowners. Fencing costs $0.75per linear foot to install.

Fencing out livestock restoresexcellent habitat for fish andwildlife while reducing erosionand nutrient inputs into the stream. The Partners Program alsoprovides tree seedlings tolandowners to establish woodyriparian buffers. We areexpanding our woody riparianbuffer program to concentrate onusing locally grown native treestock. Woody riparian buffers cost$1.50 per linear foot to plant.

Stream work concentrates on theconcept of “natural channeldesign” that provides sedimenttransport, improves fish andwildlife habitat andcost-effectively creates a stablestream. This is a state-of-the-artapproach that requires specialexpertise but has outstandingpayoffs for Pennsylvania’sstreams. The Partners Program in

Pennsylvania is cooperating with anumber of agencies and groups toconstruct several large-scaledemonstration projects. Streamwork projects cost $50 per linearfoot to complete.

Invasive Plant Species Control

Invasive plant species are a majorthreat to fish and wildlifepopulations. Invasive, exoticplants reduce native plant diversityand degrade fish and wildlifehabitats. The Partners Programassists private landowners tocontrol invasive plant species andrestore native species.

One common invasive plant inPennsylvania is multi-flora rose. This plant is found in old pasturesand can expand to dominate anentire field if it is not controlled. The Partners Program has workedto reduce multi-flora roseinvasions and improve fields forgrassland nesting birds.

We are cooperating with TheNature Conservancy (TNC) tocontrol reed canarygrass, aninvasive grass, and multi-flora roseon TNC land which providesimportant habitat for the bog turtle. Partners Program staff, workedwith TNC to erect livestock fencesand implement a grazing plan thatwould restore the originalvegetation to the site. The cost forinvasive plant control isapproximately $200 per acre.

Development of OutdoorClassrooms and OutreachPrograms

The Partners Program works withschools and nature centersthroughout Pennsylvania to restorewetlands, grasslands, and wildlife

habitats that are used as livingclassrooms with environmentaleducational programs. In addition,Partners Program staff presenteducational programs about thefish and wildlife to school childrenand others using these outdoorclassrooms.

Partners Program staff providetechnical advice about wildlife andfisheries management, wetlanddesign and construction and nativegrass management to numerousagencies and organizations as wellas countless private individuals aspart of an outreach program. Several colleges and institutionsare using Partners projects in theircurricula. Partners Program staffare participating in a 5-yeartraining and watershed monitoringprogram with the Milton HighSchool in Milton, Pennsylvania. Outdoor classrooms cost $2,000per acre to develop.

Clyde Qualk, a landowner, explaining the benefitsof native grasses.

Improving Habitat for Species of Special Concern

The Partners Program is working to protect bog turtlehabitat through our streambank fencing program. Weare working to reestablish native grassland areas toprovide habitat for the regal fritillary butterfly, aspecies in serious decline. Within the upperAllegheny watershed we are focusing on streambankfencing efforts to improve water quality for federallylisted endangered mussels.

Partners Program projects not only benefit federallylisted species, but many State listed species as well. These include sedge wrens, American bitterns, short-eared owls, least bitterns, osprey, and easternmassasauga (rattlesnake). These projects costbetween $200 and $1,000 per acre to accomplish.

Farming for Wildlife and Profit

The Partners Program recognizes the value ofagricultural lands to wildlife and works withagricultural producers to keep farms botheconomically and biologically productive. ThePartners Program also improves the effectiveness ofthe conservation provisions of the USDA Farm Bill byproviding the technical expertise. We evaluateprojects for fish and wildlife benefits and demonstrateand recommend management and restorationtechniques.

Partners

Natural Resources Conservation ServiceFarm Service AgencyU.S. Geological SurveyNational Fish and Wildlife FoundationEnvironmental Protection AgencyDepartment of DefenseNational Park ServicePennsylvania Department of Environmental ProtectionPennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural ResourcesPennsylvania Game CommissionPennsylvania Fish and Boat CommissionCalifornia University of PennsylvaniaPennsylvania State University Allegheny College

Edinboro UniversityUniversity of PittsburghLycoming CollegeBedford County Conservation DistrictBradford County CDClarion County CDWashington County CDErie County CDFranklin County CDAdams County CDChester County Parks and RecreationMontgomery County Parks and RecreationThe Nature ConservancyDucks UnlimitedAudubon SocietyTrout UnlimitedPheasants ForeverRuffed Grouse SocietyKettle Creek Watershed AssociationFishing Creek Watershed AssociationWaterfowl U.S.A.Franklin County Watershed AssociationNorthwest Pennsylvania Duck HuntersAccomplishments

• 975 landowners have had projects completed. • Over 4,000 acres of wetland habitat have been

restored.• 5,171 acres of grassland habitat have been

restored.

• 90 miles of riparian habitat have beenrestored.

• Five different educational facilities have hadwildlife habitat restored on school grounds tobe used as outdoor classrooms.

Future Needs

• Restore or enhance 300,000 acres of wetlands,focusing on northwest Pennsylvania and theSusquehanna River Watershed.

• Establish 100,000 acres of grassland, focusingon the southern half of Pennsylvania.

• Restore 5,000 miles of stream habitat.

• Expand habitat available to species ofconcern, concentrating in the threatened bogturtle in southeastern Pennsylvania andendangered mussels in the Alleghenydrainage, the most biologically diversewatershed in the Northeast.

• Work with 300,000 private landowners acrossPennsylvania to improve habitat on theirproperty.

David PutnamU.S. Fish and Wildlife ServicePartners for Fish and Wildlife Program315 South Allan Street, Suite 322State College, PA 16801814 234-4090 (Fax) 814 234-0748

September 2001

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