Letter from the Executive Director

Summer greetings!



The recent rains have been a welcome change to an abnormally dry spring, providing much need moisture for the hundreds of native trees and shrubs that Conservancy staff and volunteers have been planting through the Keystone 10 Million Trees Partnership. These volunteers, through our twice-a-month public volunteer days (2^nd and 4^th Saturdays, 9am-12pm) and private group events at the Letort Spring Garden Preserve are enhancing the preserve for wildlife and visitors. Our volunteer community has been strengthened by a team of high school students through Work Opportunities Unlimited. These students are gaining hands-on work experiences, maintaining trails, removing invasive plants, and planting trees. Check out the links further down in this newsletter to learn how you can join us in stewarding the Conservancy’s preserves.

We’re also excited to host summer interns, Genesis Whitlock and Emily Leach, who are gaining hands-on experience to enhance their academic work in environmental conservation and policy, assisting with conservation easements, habitat stewardship, social media, and more. Keep an eye out for Genesis and Emily if you’re visiting our public preserves: Greg’s Woods, Port Royal Wetlands, and the Letort Spring Garden Preserve.

July begins our countdown to the Ironmaster’s Challenge on Sunday, September 24^th at Pine Grove Furnace State Park & Michaux State Forest. The 14^th annual running of this 15K & 50K cross-country race is Central Pennsylvania Conservancy’s signature fundraising event. We are grateful for the support of our co-title sponsors, F&M Trust and Pennsylvania American Water, in addition to our sponsors. Early bird registration runs through August 1^st and our volunteer registration is open – see link below.

As a member-supported nonprofit organization, we are grateful for the generous support this past Spring, through Partnership for Better Health’s “Match Madness” and our Spring Appeal. These donations directly support our staff in stewarding our preserves and easements as well as allowing us to leverage grant funds to protect more land and enhance our preserves. Thank you for powering our mission “to acquire, preserve, and protect land and natural resources in south central Pennsylvania!

Yours in conservation,

Jason Andrew Beale

Weekly Wednesday Bird Walks

As of 7/3, our weekly walk with a naturalist at the Letort Spring Garden Preserve is on hold until further notice. We look forward to seeing you all again soon!

In this photo by The Bower (Bill and Jane Allis), a green heron is perched on a downed tree at water's edge in the foreground, with green grass in the background. The green heron (Butorides virescens) is a small, stocky non-swimming waterbird with a dark blue-green back, rusty-colored neck, white dotting along the body, with a dark black cap. Streaks of white appear down the length of its extended neck and its long slender legs are bright yellow.

It's almost here! Join us for the 14th Annual Ironmaster's Challenge 15K and 50K Trail Races!

On Sunday, September 24, join us for our biggest fundraiser of the year at the 14th Annual Ironmaster's Challenge 15K and 50K Race at Pine Grove Furnace State Park.

Stewardship

Our work taking care of the land that makes up our public preserves continues to be bolstered by the ongoing support and efforts of members of the community. Since the last newsletter went out, groups from Starbucks, Dickinson College's Center for Civic Learning and Action, Alpha Lambda Delta sorority at Dickinson College, Work Opportunities, and others have generously given their time and energy to enhancing the Letort Spring Garden Preserve for the benefit of wildlife and people! Spring is primetime for planting and invasive species removal, with hundreds of pounds of invasives removed by hand and hundreds of native trees and shrubs planted in their place. Since January, volunteers have contributed 172 hours of their collective time to bettering our world for all beings. Thank you volunteers, we couldn't do it without you!

In May, a group of young people from the Diakon Wilderness Center worked hard to install a native plant garden by the springhouse at the Letort! We are so grateful for their selecting our site as a recipient of their homegrown native plants and for a beautiful job well done!

This photo depicts six young people standing under green Spicebush shrubs in the center of the photo, with three working with shovels to dig holes, two kneeled down to plant below them, and one walking over from the right to join the effort. The foreground below the green trees is dark brown due to the mulch that was put down for moisture retention and weed suppression.

Land Protection Specialist Cameron Weiser spends most of his time plugging away on a computer, and sometimes our Lead Monitor Brennan can convince him to crawl up a rocky mountainside through rhododendron thickets in the name of conservation.

This photo is looking up a hillside covered in dead brown leaves, with dark brown twisted stems growing from the ground throughout. A person in blue jeans and an orange safety vest is seen top center crawling up the mountain.

CPC Stewardship Specialist Brennan Ka'aihue spent a few days in Washington D.C. in April as part of the Land Trust Alliance's Advocacy Days. During this time, Brennan, along with one colleague from Western Pennsylvania Conservancy and another from Natural Lands, met with state representatives to advocate for conservation needs in the 2023 Farm Bill.

A group of students from Dickinson's Center for Civic Learning and Action (CCLA) prepares to haul native trees and shrubs to the planting site at the Letort Spring Garden Preserve. Depicted are 5 young people with two shovels and two sleds full of young native trees and shrubs, with tall trees in the background, a brown meadow in the mid-ground, and green grass in the foreground.

Volunteer Joe Herbstritt gets some hours in restoring the trail system at our Greg's Woods Preserve in Juniata County!

This photo depicts a wooded area with small green plants filling the foreground, human sized green-leafed shrubs on either side of the mid-ground, and the trunks of tall trees in the background. In the center is a smiling man with a short dark beard in a black shirt, white and red baseball cap, blue jeans, brown shoes, and neon yellow gloves holding the wooden end of a hoe mattock over his left shoulder.

Progress on clearing trails at two of our Juniata County preserves continues, as evidenced by the photos below. Be on the lookout for upcoming guided walks, volunteer opportunities, and birdwatching events as the preserve infrastructure continues to be enhanced and made ready for visitors!

It's amazing how quickly the trail grows in along the berm at Port Royal Wetlands. Fear not, the goldenrod has been trimmed and the berm is walkable again for your birdwatching pleasure.

An important part of stewardship is finding, documenting, and monitoring plant populations. Greg's Woods in Juniata County is home to some beautiful and intact plant communities that we will be keeping an eye on to ensure their continued health and success.

Land Protection

The Conservancy has been focusing on two of South Central Pennsylvania's most important landscapes this spring: the South Mountain and the Kittatinny Ridge.

At the eastern slope of South Mountain, Conservancy staff met with representatives from local surveyor Wadel-Mell, Inc, this spring to kick off the survey of the Camp Tuckahoe Property. Surveyors were hard at work at the site all through the spring, getting as much done as they could before the vines, shrubs, and trees leafed out. They will be back to finish the survey in the fall when the leaves come off and visibility is better. After the survey, the various land parcels making up Camp Tuckahoe will be merged into a “Core Area” and a “Divestment Area”. The Boy Scouts of America will continue to operate summer camps and similar programs at the camp’s core, while the Conservancy purchases the undeveloped land around the camp for transfer to a state agency which will maintain it as forest land in perpetuity.

On the Kittatinny Ridge, the Conservancy continues to work with the NRCS and DCNR to acquire a conservation easement on the Amberson Ridge in northern Franklin County. The easement will protect over 90 acres of important forested ridgeland, permanently open ¾ miles of trail to the public, and preserve the Catholic Path, a historically significant hiking trail in Franklin County. After the easement is recorded, the Conservancy will be working with partners to erect interpretive signs along the Catholic Path, so that visitors may learn to appreciate the significance of the humble dirt trail to the Amberson Village community.

This June the Conservancy mailed 250 postcards to landowners on the Kittatinny Ridge in hopes of inspiring a conservation ethic along the ridge and engaging landowners in conversations about land preservation. If you or someone you know holds undeveloped land on the ridge please let them know that the Conservancy is interested in compensating landowners for keeping their land undeveloped (a “conservation easement”).

For more information on the Kittatinny Ridge, visit this handout from DCNR.

An aerial overview of part of the Camp Tuckahoe project. The photo depicts wooded hills interspersed with a pond, a swimming pool complex, and a camp headquarters building.

Special Feature: Seedkeeping

Hey everyone! My name is Genesis Whitlock, I’m a summer intern for CPC and last week we got the opportunity to learn about seed keeping at the Letort Spring Garden Preserve. 

Seed keeping, also known as seed saving is the process of saving the seeds from plants to preserve the species for future generations. 

Last week we collected seeds from Golden Ragwort (Packera aurea), Bulrush (Scirpus spp.), Wrinkleleaf Goldenrod (Solidago rugosa), and Jacob’s ladder (Polemonium reptans). 

We used a strainer to remove the chaff from the seed and organized the seeds into small plastic bags with a seal and tupperware. It is important to keep the seeds dry to avoid molding. For anyone interested in saving their own seeds, you can research the particular seeds' stratification requirements and the conditions they need to thrive. 

The time a seed remains viable varies among species, ranging from 1–2-year period and up to 5–6-year periods. Here at CPC, we will continue to learn from the stewardship specialists about seed keeping and the different stratification requirements needed to support the native plant populations.  For more information check out the Community seed Network's Seed Saving Resources.

Letort Volunteer Work Days

May - September: 9 am to 12 pm

October - November: 1 pm to 4 pm

• July 8 + July 22
• August 12 + August 26
• September 9 + September 23
• October 14 + October 28
• November 11 + November 25

Enjoy these photos taken by CPC staff and interns at our preserves!

Snapping Turtle (Chelydra serpentina) spotted at the Letort Spring Garden Preserve. Keep your distance from these amazing, ancient creatures: their jaws are so strong that they can break a broomstick in half with one bite!

A box turtle (Terrapene carolina) hides out among invasive Japanese Stiltgrass (Microstegium vimineum) at the Letort.

Wood Ear mushrooms (Auricularia auricula-judae can be found at the Letort throughout summer. These mushrooms are highly nutritious and medicinal. Always consult a knowledgeable person and do research before consuming any fungus you may find.

Wood Frog (Lithobates sylvaticus) tadpoles can be found in the forested wetlands at our Greg's Woods Preserve in Mexico, PA. These frogs actually freeze themselves in the winter and thaw themselves out in the spring to survive thanks to their extraordinary biology.

Conical brittlestem (Parasola conopilea) mushrooms are found popping up behind the barn at the Letort.

Green frogs (Lithobates clamitans) are the most photogenic residents of the Letort, don't you agree?

Butterfly Weed (Asclepias tuberosa) is in bloom at the Letort! This milkweed is an important host plant for Monarch and Queen butterflies.

The oak-hickory savanna at our Brady Bryner Preserve received a thinning a couple of years ago for Golden Winged Warbler habitat and has excellent oak regeneration occurring.

Northern Catalpa (Catalpa speciosa) is a gorgeous native tree with summertime flowers to enjoy. These are short lived trees, with a life span of up to 60 years.

Ramps (Allium tricoccum) spotted during the spring monitoring season at one of our privately owned easements. It was a joy to introduce the landowner to this previously unknown to them Appalachian spring delight.

A breeding pair of Pileated Woodpeckers (Drycocopus pileatus) has chosen this snag at Greg's Woods to rear their young. These large birds historically required up to 600 acres of territory to raise their babies, but habitat loss has forced them into smaller territories, such as the 33 acres at Greg's Woods.

Have any photos to share that you've taken at our preserves? We'd love to see them and share them with your permission and photo credit. Email them to brennan@centralpaconservancy.org to be featured on our social media channels!

Passionate about genealogy, Lida served as the former secretary and treasurer of the Kidwell Family Association during her retirement. Her dedication to preserving the family history and connecting with relatives was remarkable. While she did not have children of her own, Lida embraced her extended family and treated many members of her local community as her own kin.

Mrs. Lida Hail will be remembered as a compassionate and accomplished woman, whose dedication to her profession, commitment to family, and generosity towards her community left an indelible mark on the lives she touched. Her legacy will continue to inspire and serve as a reminder of the importance of education, heritage, and the bonds we forge with those around us.

Thank you for reading and supporting our work to protect and preserve land in south-central Pennsylvania!

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