From the Field - Mariton Wildlife Sanctuary

Stewarship Assistant Positon

Natural Lands Trust has a job opening for a Stewardship Assistant.  You can view the full job description by clicking on this link(http://www.natlands.org/categories/subcategory.asp?fldSubCategoryId=42).  The Stewardship Assistant would be working at Mariton one or two days each week, and working the rest of the week at other preserves near Doylestown and Ambler.

Until recently, Mariton was without a Stewardship Assistant.  In the fall, Joe Vinton was promoted to  Preserve Manager of Hildacy Farm, and Rebbecca Shields Moose left to pursue another career.  While I missed the extra help, their leaving came at a time when I was able to get by.

Sean Quinn is now working at Mariton a couple days a month.  Sean was an intern at Crow's Nest Preserve, before moving up to the Stewardship Assistant position for northern Chester County.  Sean presently spreads his time between 5 Preserves, because of the vacant position.

The Stewardship Assistant is a good entry point to Natural Lands Trust.  Right now, about one third of our Preserve Managers started with NLT as Stewardship Assistants.  Besides doing rewarding work in the conservation field, you get exposed to the different Preserves and equipment.  Let's face it, the Stewardship staff has been doing this for a long time, so a Stewardship Assistant has access to almost 200 years of collective wisdom and experience in land management.  Additionally, since different Preserve Managers also coordinate information on what's new in invasives, wildlife management, restoration, etc., the Stewardship Assistant learns cutting edge techniques, as well as the tried and true.

If you, or someone you know, would be interested in the position, I encourage you to contact Gary Gimbert (who began his career with NLT as a Stewardship Assistant).

Golden Eagles and Wind Energy

I wrote recently about research that was done to find out what effects wind turbines might have on migrating songbirds (see http://natlands.typepad.com/from_the_field_mariton/2006/12/wind_power_and_.html)  The Pennsylvania Game Commission just announced on their website that they will be partnering with the National Aviary and Carnegie Museum of Natural History to research migration patterns of Golden Eagles in Pennsylvania.  (To read the press release click http://www.pgc.state.pa.us/pgc/cwp/view.asp?Q=171118&A=11).  The Appalachian Mountains in PA are an important migration corridor for Golden Eagles.  Many of these ridges are also targeted for wind turbines.  So, it is great that the Game Commission and their partners are taking this proactive step to research migration patterns that can lead to informed placement for wind power projects.

Wind farms on PA ridges are increasing.  As I said before, I support wind energy, but we should be able to harness the wind, and at the same time have minimal effect on the species using these areas, whether for migration or daily travel.  We should also be able to decrease the amount of electricity that we use each day.

Caveman T.V.

This Saturday night, Mariton has its Caveman T.V. program.  We will sit around a campfire on a cold evening.  Watching a campfire is mesmerizing.  Watching it with your clan is probably more entertaining and educational than most things actually on television.  Maureen and I are still discussing what food will be offered.  No woolly mammoth, but we will have some nostalgic treats like s'mores and warm cider.

Chances are good that we will hear owls, and we might even hear foxes calling.

The campfire is from 6:30 - 10:00 p.m.  (You can arrive after 6:30 and leave before 10:00.)  Bring folding chairs and dress warmly in layers (you might want a blanket too).  The weather forecast is for a cold night.  Please call ahead (610-258-6574) if you plan to attend.  If no one calls, I won't build the campfire.

Trail Trimming

I recently finished trimming back the edges of Mariton's trails.  Using a weedwhacker with a metal saw blade, I cut back woody vegetation for three feet of both sides of the trails.  I try to do this every few years.  Of course, during winters with a snow pack, I usually can't accomplish this job.

The main reason I do this is to keep trees and bushes from growing in on the trails.  Spicebush (Lindera benzoin) in particular has a tendency to poke its branches into the trail space at eye level.  By keeping the little saplings cut back, I only have to trim back a few branches.  Tree seedlings within a foot of the trail edge will eventually become trees on the trail.  These trees are more likely to  become hazard trees because of the traffic on their root systems.  Finally, it keeps the multiflora rose (Rosa multiflora) and wine berry (Rubus phoenicolasius) trimmed back.  These two tend to arc into the trail and scratch bare-legged hikers.

I do this work in the winter, so that I target only woody plants.  Cutting the edges back now means that I will have less trail maintenance during the summer (when I don't have the time).  It also means that there will be less impact on wild flowers and their developing seed heads.  Because the woody plants have much of their energy stored in their roots right now, they will grow back (just not enough to poke into the trails this summer).

One of the benefits that I have noticed from this edge trimming, is that more sunlight gets to the trail edges.  So, now we have more wild flowers right along the trails.  This is great, because now you can admire and study these beauties without stepping off the trail.  One of the tenets of the "Leave No Trace" philosophy is to stay on trails to protect plants, and to keep soil compaction in a discreet manageable location.

Right now, you might see a difference.  In May, when things green up, it will be difficult to tell that I did this work in January.  (Before on the left; after on the right.)

Rhododendron Leaves

The frigid temperatures this morning caused the rhododendron (Rhododendron maximum) leaves to roll up.  Rhodies are one of the flowering, broadleaf trees in our area that keep their leaves during the winter.  While it allows them to photosynthesize year round, there are disadvantages to keeping leaves in winter.

The main liability is water loss.  During winter, access to water can be severely limited if the ground is frozen.  If a plant is photosynthesizing, it is using water.  If it has leaves, it is loosing water (through a process called transpiration).  So, water management becomes a real issue to evergreens in the winter.

Rhodies have leathery leaves that help prevent water loss through the surface.  In extreme cold (like this morning), they roll up their leaves into cigar-shaped cylinders to reduce surface area.  (Pine needles have a small surface to volume ratio.)  Smaller surface area means less water loss.  (Think of a cup of water in a glass, and another cup in a cake pan.  More water will evaporate from the cake pan because there is more surface area.)

A second liability is that plant cells contain water.  When the water freezes it expands and the cells can burst.  Antifreeze in the sap helps protect plants from freezing cells.  Conifers have a resin in their sap that acts as antifreeze (think of turpentine).  Rhodies also produce resins in their sap that protect cells from freezing.  I don't know for sure, but imagine these resins are what make ericaceous plant poisonous to animals.

Another liability for evergreens is snow weight on tree limbs.  Conifers confront this problem with a pyramid shape which encourages the snow to fall off (and also distributes the weight on the tips many limbs, instead of just a few).  Rhododendrons, with their rolled-up, vertically hanging leaves, don't provide much surface for snow to cling to.

I have spent many a cold morning perched beside cigar-leaved Rhododendrons.  Although not musical, the wind rattles the leaves like wind chimes.  It is a very characteristic sound in the winter woods.

Fox Sighting

This morning I was driving the tractor in the fields to do some trail work, when I saw a red fox loping through the tall grass.  It didn't seem too concerned by me at first, and was basically keeping parallel to the tractor.  When I crossed one of the fencerows, I could see it ahead of me, moving a bit faster, but still staying parallel.  I lost sight of it in some brush, and then it popped out and crossed the trail right in front of me and sprinted down the hill into the woods.

Its fur coat was luxurious and all light orange.  Because of the variability in furs, I have been able to identify at least four different foxes at Mariton this winter.  One of these foxes was so charcoal colored that I thought it was a gray fox, until I saw its black feet and white-tipped tail.

I have no idea if any of these were part of the litter that was raised next to a trail last spring.  Several people got to see those fox kits as they played at the den's entrance.  It was amazing that the parents chose a location so close to a trail, but there was a good food source nearby.  It is highly unlikely that they will use the same den this spring, but I will be on the look out for denning activity around Mariton.  To read more about those fox kits click on the link http://natlands.typepad.com/from_the_field_mariton/2006/04/index.html and scroll to April 20.

Easement Monitoring

I recently started my annual monitoring visits of Conservation Easements.  I now have roughly 6,500 acres to monitor in the Poconos alone.  Conservation Easements are a great tool for landowners who want to protect the features of their property that they love for future generations, yet still retain ownership.  You can learn more about conservation easements by clicking on this link to Natural Lands Trust's (NLT) information site.  http://www.natlands.org/categories/article.asp?fldArticleId=85

On Wednesday, January 10, I visited a site just west of Lake Wallenpaupack.  Erin Lee, from NLT's Conservation Services Department, accompanied me as we walked much of the boundary line of this 450 acre property.  We drove through a snow squall on our way there.  When we arrived the roads were snow covered and slick.  The wind was brisk and the temperature was raw.  But we were dressed for the weather and actually had an enjoyable walk.

This past Tuesday, I joined Erin and Mike McGeehin (also from the Conservation Services Department) to monitor an easement in Marshall's Creek.  Erin was there to take photos for the Baseline Document.  Mike was there to GPS the locations of the photos.  He also took points along the trails that we walked, so that he can make our maps of the property more accurate. 

I jumped at the opportunity to join them, as this is a new easement for me and they are more familiar with the property.  Believe it or not, this is a 4,000 acre parcel in the Poconos that will not be developed.  I was able to get a good feel for about one quarter of the property on Tuesday.  I need to return later this winter to explore the other 3,000 acres.

The Poconos are outside NLT's usual area of operation.  Fortunately, the Board of Trustees has been very willing to expand the boundaries to include these Conservation Easements.  Good thing too, NLT is one of the few Land Trusts in the country with the expertise to handle easements of this magnitude and complexity.  The pressures for development in the Poconos are overwhelming, and it is fortunate that we are able to help these landowners hold on to something that is so important to them -- and  so important to the region.

Friday Night Movies

This winter I will be showing videos in the Nature Center as part of Mariton's Winter Program Schedule.  Most of these videos are in Mariton's library and very few people have seen them.  They will probably never be shown on television and yet are very entertaining and educational. 

The first video will be presented on Friday, January 19, from 8:00 - 9:30 p.m.  Pennsylvania Elk:  Reclaiming the Alleghenies was produced by the Pennsylvania Game Commission.  It tells the story of the native Eastern Woodland Elk that once populated Pennsylvania (and most eastern states).  Then it discusses the different efforts to reintroduce elk into the state.  The video footage is excellent.  (85 minutes)

Later this winter you can learn about black bears, bio-diversity and how birds eat.

Wind Power and Bird Fatalities

"Nocturnal Bird Migration Over an Appalachian Ridge at a Proposed Wind Power Project" is a research paper published in The Wildlife Society Bulletin October 2006.  The authors (Mabee et. al.) studied night migration along an Allegheny Frontline in West Virginia in the fall of 2003.  They used an equipment van with a roof-mounted marine radar antenna to monitor flight direction, altitude, passage rates and groundspeeds.

I was interested by several things in this paper.  For instance, I learned that resident raptors were the main fatalities at older wind powered units in the U.S.  Because of this, most modern facilities study the behavior of diurnal species when planning the layout of the windmills.  This is great.

However, there are all sorts of other birds (and bats) that use the same ridgelines at night and at different seasons of the year.  In fact, more birds migrate at night than during the day.  The authors point out that much more research needs to be done in the planning of wind powered units.  For instance, this study was conducted for 6 weeks in the fall, during peak passerine (songbird) migration, however, "most bat fatalities at wind power developments appear to occur between approximately mid-July and late September (Johnson 2004)."  I also learned that songbirds migrate at much lower altitudes than waterfowl or shorebirds.  Their research corresponded with previous research that most songbirds migrate below 600 meters (above ground level).

A few more interesting points:  Most of nocturnal use occurred from an hour after sunlight until 2:00 a.m.  They observed relatively large flights of birds on about a quarter of the nights monitored.  The mean flight altitudes were above the proposed turbine heights, however, there were 5 nights when the mean flight altitudes fell to 200-300 meters.  Birds did not seem to use the Allegheny Frontline to migrate along; rather most of their observations had birds flying across instead of parallel to the ridgeline.  The authors felt nightly variations would be explained by weather and even the species of birds migrating.  Obviously, spring migrations weren't studied in this research, but should be in the future.

I think the important point made by this research is that this equipment is capable of detecting night bird migration; and that with more baseline data humans will be able to predict where most bird strikes are likely to occur before the wind turbines are constructed.

Autumn Leaves

I finally raked up the last load of leaves for the season!  This year, I moved a total of 29 pick-up loads of leaves, which is about average.  I started raking as soon as the leaves started falling.  Over the years, I have found that if you rake a day a week throughout the fall, the leaves don't get embedded in the grass, and they are easier to rake.  It is also a lot easier moving that many loads over a two month period as opposed to a two week period.

I know that I am considered old-fashioned because I still use a rake and haven't switched to a gas-powered blower.  Truth is:  I am just as fast with the rake as the blower.  The difference is that it is more physical to use the rake.  (I figure that helps keep me in shape.)  Plus, I don't have to listen to the whine of a two-cycle engine, or inhale the fumes.

My leaf pile resembles a mountain about this time of year.  But I will turn it regularly with the front end loader and the leaves will compost nicely.  I don't use the soil from the compost anymore though.  About one quarter of the leaves from the yard are from walnut trees.  These trees produce juglone which is a compound that inhibits the germination of other plants.  There is some juglone in the leaves, at least enough to discourage the growth of everything except for weeds.  Trust me on this, I found out the hard way.