Conservation Tools

Whether you have rural acreage, a suburban yard, or a city lot, you can help protect the environment and add beauty and interest to your surroundings. “Backyard Conservation" shows how conservation practices that help conserve and improve natural resources on agricultural land across the country can be adapted for use around the home. Most backyard conservation practices are easy to use and these 10 conservation practices help the environment and can make your yard more attractive and enjoyable.

This publication promotes forest stewardship through education, cooperation, and voluntary action

In simple terms, this book connects the dots and makes it clear that increasing native insect biomass with native plants is the glue that holds together the web of life in the homemade habitat. Available at most book retail sources.

Presentation regarding stewardship of conserved properties.

Summary of lease options and considerations of landowners for use when their conservation reserve contract expires.

This guidebook was created to outline the benefits of enhancing the natural resources in local parks and other landscapes, to maintain these areas in a sustainable manner, and to provide a step-by-step guide to help staff and volunteers achieve those results. It is directed primarily towards those charged with the design and maintenance of parklands, retail centers, housing developments, industrial parks, schools and other land uses, although the principles outlined in the book could also be used by individual homeowners.

This fact sheet discusses how dead parts of live trees and dead trees, whether standing (snags) or fallen (logs), are particularly important resources.

fact sheet on deer management options

fact sheet on environmentally friendly lawn

The Fatal Light Awareness Program works to safeguard migratory birds in the urban environment through education, research, rescue and rehabilitation.

A self-assessment guide for managing your forest for timber production, wildlife, recreation & aesthetics and water quality.

This publication will explain many of the forestry alternatives available to you. A forester can help you choose the forestry practices best suited to your timberlands, but you must make the business and financial decisions.Land-Use Considerations What is your primary ownership objective – to produce maximum income, improve

Game Commission web page with wind energy resources, including the second wind energy summary report through June 2010.

The Mission of GreenInfrastructure.Net is to illustrate that identifying and planning for multi-purpose green space networks rather than on protection of isolated properties dramatically increases the environmental, economic, and health benefits of land conservation. It shows through description, examples, and links to numerous resources how thoughtful conservation planning can provide a framework for smart conservation and smart growth.

This two-page brochure gives a brief overview of the IBA program in the United States, including achievements of the program nationwide.

This website describes the work, activities, and programs of the National Audubon Society.

The primary purpose of this list is to identify those plants that are invasive and cause damage to native plant communities. The intention is to foster early detection so that land managers can implement management actions to prevent exotics from becoming established. It is also intended to educate land managers and the public in an effort to eliminate the use of invasives in landscaping, restoration and enhancement projects.

An Ecological Perspective of Plant Invaders of Forests & Woodlands. The purpose of this particular field guide is to give a scientific synthesis of what is known about the behavior of such species in managed, disturbed, and pristine forested systems in addition to key information for accurate identification.

Manual for gardening with native plants for the Middle-Atlantic region.

Two-page deer management guide for landowners including information on predator-prey balance and tools and options available to private landholders.

Convened by Audubon Pennsylvania and the Pennsylvania Habitat Alliance to compile and examine the pertinent research, enlist other expertise, weigh the issues, and set forth a vision of what ecosystem-based deer management might entail in large forested areas of the eastern United States, using Pennsylvania as an example.

fact sheet

This handy book is full of great information geared to landowners with large acreage and/or working land (agricultural or ranch) who would like to provide for and protect wildlife.

This is an extensive guide to attracting and observing backyard birds. It explains how to plant a bird-friendly garden, understand bird behavior and identify common North American backyard birds. It includes ample information on attracting birds, with tips on installing hanging birdfeeders, deterring unwanted visitors, arranging ground feeders, building feeders, choosing bird food and setting up bird baths.

A book full of colorful photographs that profiles common invasive plants (national) and the native alternatives to take their place.

Providing a scientific basis for effective conservation, NatureServe and its network of natural heritage programs are the trusted source for information about rare and endangered species and threatened ecosystems.

A beautifully written examination of why restoring habitat on our properties is so important and how it can replace traditional landscaping practices which create a disconnect. If nothing else, read the first 100 pages and you will have a new perspective on your yard. Available on retail book websites, some retail book locations, and at some nature centers.

This site was created as a place to learn about Pennsylvania’s trees, how to care for them, and tap into tree expertise across the Commonwealth. It is designed to help answer many of your questions.

Information the care of trees and forests. Includes answers to many questions regarding planting, health, diseases, finding assistance, etc.

This website describes the work, activities, and programs of the Pennsylvania chapter of the Audubon Society.

Links and ordering information for multiple publications (some free) on forestry programs and tree care

The Pennsylvania Natural Heritage Program (PNHP) provides current, reliable, objective, accessible information on Pennsylvania’s ecological resources to help inform environmental, economic, and land use decisions.

This website provides information on how to find seasonal pools, identify the animals you may encounter, and register the pool once you have confirmed that it is seasonal rather than permanent in nature.

Two-page fact sheet for landowners, planners, and others to maintain grassland birds, which have declined in recent years. Information covers causes of decline, importance of agricultural lands, amount of land needed for nesting, and what landowners and planners can do to help.

This book includes chapters on the disturbance processes, how the disturbance causes necrosis or death to individuals, and their effects on population or community processes.

The manual presents a detailed overview of invasion biology and history as well as methods for establishing control efforts. Generalizations about invaders are derived from the literature and a suite of species that have affected several locations, most notably, South Africa, Australasia, Mauritius, and Hawaii. Species invasive in Europe, North America, and elsewhere are also included.

The follow-up to Noah’s Garden, the how-to’s on welcoming life back into the yard. Available on retail book websites, some retail book locations, and at some nature centers.

The book analyzes the factors that shape an invader s progress through four stages: arriving through one of many possible ports of entry, reaching a threshold of survival, thriving through proliferation and geographic spread, and ultimate impact on the organism s new environment. The book also reviews approaches to predicting whether a species will become an invader as well as the more complex challenge of predicting and measuring its impact on the environment, a process involving value judgments and risk assessment. This detailed analysis will be of interest to policymakers, plant scientists, agricultural producers, environmentalists, and public agencies concerned with invasive plant and plant pest species.

The Important Bird Area (IBA) Program in the United States has grown to include over 2100 sites (National Audubon Society 2008), leading to the inevitable challenge of how to advance conservation at numerous sites with limited resources.

Two-page fact sheet on this aphid-like creature that feeds on hemlock trees. Information includes a description of the pest, its life history, and what landowners can do to help control and eliminate the woolly hemlock adelgid.

Two-page fact sheet about sustainable forestry for the benefit of birds and other wildlife. Information covers selective cutting, stewardship practices, composition of forest for nesting birds and forest health, and implementation tips.

The Tennessee Exotic Plant Management Manual was written to provide natural resource managers and others concerned about exotics a tool to help control and manage 20 of Tennessee's worst exotic pest plant problems. The Tennessee Exotic Pest Plant Council (TN-EPPC), established in 1994, identified as one of its first goals the production of such a management manual for our region.

An in-depth breakdown of plant communities found in Pennsylvania specific to particular physiographic regions.

The definitive guide to attracting birds includes plant profiles (across five regions of U.S.), bird diets, and planting recommendations.

In a book long awaited by landscapers, birders, gardeners, and naturalists, Stephen W. Kress provides a practical, comprehensive, and thoroughly illustrated guide to attracting birds to any property, be it a small patch of land in the city or a showplace countryside garden, a median strip or an expansive woodlot, a commercial building or a community park.

The manual includes keys to families, genera, and species; extensive diagnostic illustrations; scientific and common names; and data on distribution ranges, relative frequency, rare and endangered species, blooming and fruiting periods; with taxonomic notes and an illustrated glossary. The information meticulously reflects the plants as represented in Pennsylvania and is derived from specimens collected within the state.

The Stewardship Handbook is a compilation of the knowledge gained from the organization’s four decades of experience managing its 20,000-acre network of nature preserves in the region. The 220-page book serves as a resource for professional land managers and planners as well as to homeowners seeking to adopt a greener approach to caring for their properties.

This vol. is the first published product of the Pennsylvania Flora Database, created & maintained at the Morris Arboretum of the Univ. of Pennsylvania. The database has its roots in the work of Edgar T. Wherry, John M. Fogg, Jr., & Herbert A. Wahl, the “Atlas of the Flora of Pennsylvania”, published by the Morris Arboretum. Over a period of 40 years, Wherry & his colleagues gathered data from the major Pennsylvania herbaria & manually placed a quarter of a million dots on over 3500 maps. The Pennsylvania Flora Database retains the emphasis on specimen-based, site-specific data. The checklist of included taxa has undergone extensive review to reflect recent taxonomic & nomenclatural revisions. Questionable specimens have been re-evaluated with the result that several taxa included in earlier works were dropped. Recent discoveries have been added & distribution data has been updated. This vol. also includes collections made in the 1990s in conjunction with the Pennsylvania Natural Diversity Inventory (PNDI), the state heritage program. The maps present the accumulated collection of information for each taxon as represented in the herbaria. Illus., reprinted 1996.

A publication of the Natural Resource, Agriculture, and Engineering Service of the Cooperative Extension, Ithaca, NY. An excellent spiral bound workbook with reader-friendly information on land management, worksheets, and checklists including breakdown of trees and their relative wildlife value. Available here: http://www.nraes.org/

Information to assist timber harvesters to prepare and implement soil erosion and sediment control plans, and to work around streams and wetlands. Experience has shown that most soil erosion problems originate with the improper layout or construction of skid trails, logging roads and landing areas. Therefore, the focus of this publication is to provide guidance and furnish specifications to properly design and implement an effective erosion and sediment control plan on a timber harvesting site.

Complete primer for individuals and local government officials who have no knowledge of timber practices. Includes informative sections on forestry economics, products, management principles, an overview of state regulation, and how to deal with potential road damage. Of note in the Appendix are public and private resources and organizaitons offering forestry assistance here in the Commonwealth .

This manual provides a model for incorporating existing ecological data gathered by the Pennsylvania Natural Heritage Program (PNHP) into the development of a wind energy special purpose zone. This manual was developed as part of a research project sponsored by a grant from the Center for Rural Pennsylvania, a legislative agency of the Pennsylvania General Assembly.

This handbook provides you with detailed information about the tools and techniques available for controlling invasive plants, or weeds, in natural areas. Whenever possible, language familiar to natural area managers is used, and unfamiliar terms and jargon borrowed from other fields are defined.

A partnership between the National Park Service and the Center for Invasive Species and Ecosystem Health at University of Georgia, this website has a profile of hundreds of invasive plants with pictures, maps of where they are found, and links to other websites with information about their control.

Describes the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy’s science initiatives under its Natural Heritage Program.

This manual summarizes the morphological characteristics, habitat requirements, life history, and possible methods of control for several common invasive plant species. Botanical terms used in the plant descriptions are not available on-line at this time. A reference section is included to acknowledge sources of information and to provide a reference to the literature addressing the problem of invasive species in Wisconsin. Sources for weed control tools, organizations, and other useful information are included in this section. Recommendations included here are limited to the control of some of the more problematic invasive plant species of Wisconsin. As control information on additional invasive species becomes available, and as users request information on other problem plants, these species may be added to the manual.