Pennsylvania Wildlife Refuges

Nearly exterminated in a fierce Indian war in 1656 by their traditional Iroquois enemies to the east, the Erie Indian Tribe is, nevertheless, not forgotten in northwestern Pennsylvania. A major city, a Great Lake, and a national wildlife refuge in the area bear the tribe's name. Erie National Wildlife Refuge lies 35 miles south of the port city of Erie on Lake Erie in the drainage basin of French Creek. This stream, named by George Washington, has been allowed to retain much of its original biologic diversity, causing both the refuge and the stream to take on global significance.

Declining waterfowl habitat was the principal reason for the establishment in 1959 of this refuge in an area where there are over 2,500 acres of choice wetland habitat. The purchase was made possible with funding from the Migratory Bird Conservation Fund, into which Duck Stamp proceeds are deposited. Revenues from the Fund are a dedicated source for purchases of wetlands for migratory waterfowl.

The importance of Erie NWR grew, however, as knowledge about its resources increased. Now manager Tom Mountain and his staff are dedicated to preserving a variety of habitats to support a broad diversity of species including several that are of special concern because of their scarcity.

Thanks to an extensive inventory by The Western Pennsylvania Conservancy, the refuge took on even greater distinction with the discovery of several environmentally significant areas. One such area is the Mohawk Run Fen, a 5-acre wet area of special habitat containing at least four plant species of special concern in Pennsylvania. On a global scale, shrub fens of the type at Erie NWR are rare natural communities and in Pennsylvania they are classified as critically imperiled.

The water quality of French Creek and its tributary streams is unique among bodies of water in the United States, the result of low population density and minimal impacts from farming. Nearly 70 species of fish and about 25 species of mussels, including two that are classified as endangered, remain in the healthy surface water system.

The streams flowing through the glacial valleys of Erie NWR flow directly into French Creek, a waterway bordering the northern 3,600 acre Seneca Division, one of two sub-units of the 8,800 acre refuge. The 5,200 acre Sugar Lake Division lies 10 miles to the south. Beginning in southwestern New York, French Creek flows 117 miles to the Allegheny River in northwestern Pennsylvania south of the refuge. The endangered rifleshell and clubshell mussels are present in the Seneca Division. No other national wildlife refuge can lay claim to the rare clubshell, a once-abundant freshwater species that has suffered more than a 95 percent reduction of its historic range in the eastern United States.

Ponds, marshland, forested areas, grasslands, and meadows account for Erie's tremendous variety of wildlife. Among the 236 bird species attracted to the refuge, 112 find nesting habitat there. Nine of Pennsylvania's 13 endangered and threatened bird species have been observed on the refuge. One observer reported the refuge to be "crawling" with singing warblers as late as in mid-July. Fortunate observers might even see a northern saw-whet owl, bald eagle, American bittern, Henslow's sparrow, black tern, or upland sandpiper.

Over 400 wood duck hatchlings are produced each year along with young from other common nesters, including hooded mergansers, mallards, blue-winged teal and Canada geese. Volunteer and retired local postmaster Garry Sliter began and until his death managed the refuge bluebird trail that has produced as many as 217 fledglings in one year. His volunteer helper has taken over the eastern bluebird project, spending up to 30 hours a week in the spring monitoring 90 nest boxes.

The Harris checkerspot butterfly, though uncommon in Pennsylvania, does well in the refuge. Other wildlife inhabitants include 33 species of mammals, 37 species of amphibians and reptiles, and over 80 wildflower species that are present on the trails open for public use.

Protection of sensitive areas in the refuge like the rare shrub fen are accomplished through as much of a hands-off management approach as is possible, but other areas are in an effort to maintain a habitat mix attractive to wildlife. Water levels are varied seasonally to assure the revegetation of wetlands, grasslands are burned periodically to control woody growth, and strips of forested areas are fragmented with a "hydro-ax" machine on a rotation schedule to create American woodcock habitat. These actions are designed to emulate changes that would occur in nature through wild fires and storms.

Tsuga Trail will introduce refuge visitors to the several management techniques used to sustain wildlife. The 1.2 mile loop trail starts at the headquarters/visitor center building, passes by grasslands and water impoundments, crosses a huge beaver-created pond on a boardwalk, and passes through woodlands including a hemlock forest. The trail was named for the eastern hemlock (Tsuga canadensis), the state tree of Pennsylvania.

There are two other walking trails on the Sugar Lake Division and another on the Seneca Division. March and April are popular months to visit when spring migration is at its peak and wildflowers are beginning to bloom. Most of Erie's almost 50,000 annual visitors, however, go in November to see fall migrations. Two of the refuge trails are open for cross-country skiing and snowshoeing during winter months.

Hunting of small and big game animals and migratory birds is permitted on selected areas of the refuge. Permitted fishing includes all year bank fishing and seasonal ice fishing at designated locations. Hunting and fishing program details are contained in brochures available from the refuge headquarters.

Public outreach at Erie NWR reflects the tireless work of Janet Marvin, the refuge's public use specialist. Especially interested in environmental education, she will have as many as 250 eighth graders come to the refuge for guided tours on one day with a fleet of buses rotating them from site to site. Her focus is to teach younger students how to use binoculars and to identify birds. Older students learn about the habitat management practices at the refuge. If a school cannot afford transportation to the refuge, Marvin goes to the school. Her hope is to make all local teachers capable of being the refuge tour guides for their students by enrolling them in the teacher training workshops that she conducts.

Besides also recruiting volunteers, preparing refuge literature, and managing the refuge trails, Marvin coordinates the biennial judging of Junior Duck Stamp entries from all of Pennsylvania and oversees a highly successful nature photography contest that attracts as many as 200 entries.

Marvin's organizational skills earned her the additional task of managing special events throughout the 12 state northeastern region of the United States including the dedication program marking the establishment in 1994 of the 500th national wildlife refuge located in Canaan Valley WV.

Marvin proved her dedication to self-improvement by spending 10 years of her night and vacation times studying for a degree in biology, the qualification that allowed her to move from office clerk to public use specialist. Perhaps an even greater test of her patience is waiting for the $100,000 she has been requesting over several years for the first exhibits in the visitor center space of the headquarters building. It was built in 1981 and really needs to be expanded, says Marvin.

Only one of two national wildlife refuges in Pennsylvania, Erie National NWR is another vital link in the national network of land and water for wildlife, a network of links that also protects globally-significant wildlife habitat.

Solving the Saw-whet Puzzle

"We don't know what happens between the Great Lakes and the Atlantic coast," says Erie NWR biologist Marnee Gormley. Gormley runs a refuge banding station, one of 12 stations in Pennsylvania, trying to learn about unknown migration patterns of saw-whet owls. Saw-whets are small owls whose calls resemble the sound from a mill saw being filed (whetted) for sharpening

On duty from 10 pm to 5 am during fall migration when the owls are active, Gormley and a volunteer assistant keep checking their mist nets to see whether any unsuspecting in-flight birds have made a soft-landing in the pocketed nets. The owls are lured to the net area with a tape playing a territorial call of the owl.

Before their release, birds are given numbered leg bands and measured to identify their age and sex. Later recaptures will enable ornithologists to track the migration movements of the owls.

In the spring, Gormley hopes to conduct a breeding survey on the Erie NWR to determine whether the owls use the refuge for nesting, too.

Few Others in the World

Worldwide, shrub fens are natural communities that are considered to be imperiled and very rare. Imagine the excitement of botanist Jim Bissell who found one at Erie NWR during the conduct of a plant and animal inventory by the Cleveland Museum of Natural History and the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy. Excitement still runs deep with refuge biologist Marnee Gormley who reports finding several more smaller fens, none larger than 5 acres in size.

Fens are significant because they contain certain hydrologic and terrain features necessary to support otherwise uncommon plants. They are historically formed with shallow water tables and seepages together with hummocks or slightly elevated high spots.

The seepage openings are where 3 rare plant species are found; the state-endangered slender spikerush (Eleocharis elliptical), the state-threatened thin-leaved cotton-grass (Eriophorum viridicarinatum), and the globally significant drooping bluegrass (Poa languida).

Botanists suspected the presence of the state-endangered swamp fly honeysuckle (Lonicera oblogifolia) as well, but Gormley reports only recent confirmation. It took 3 years of excluding white-tailed deer before the shrub recovered enough from severe browsing to be identifiable. Gormley says that without the appropriate management of animal browsing and exotic plant growth the fen could be reduced to a worthless monoculture, a future that she is determined to avoid through control strategies that are currently under study.

The shrub fen community is also ideal habitat for bog turtles (Clemmys muhlenbergii), a reptile just declared a federally threatened species in November 1997. Gormley says she will not know for sure of their presence until she undertakes a baiting and trapping project.

Audubon Chapter Celebrates 10 Year Alliance

The Presque Isle Audubon Society was a trend setter back in 1987 when it decided to adopt Erie NWR as part of the National Audubon Society's Adopt-a-Refuge Program. Since then, this national conservation organization has turned up the heat in its advocacy of national wildlife refuges with its new seven year campaign to build an out-spoken constituency on behalf of the refuge system. The adopters have been succeeded by groups of Audubon Refuge Keepers, one of several campaign components designed to educate the public and policy makers on the values of the refuge system. Audubon is looking to its 518 local chapters nationwide to build community support for refuge purposes through outreach and education in cooperation with refuge staffs.

According to society member Joan Howlett, changes in their relationship with Erie NWR will not be dramatic. That is because Presque Isle's past alliance has been close to what is expected of Refuge Keepers. Howlett says that Presque Isle's political action went as far Washington, D.C. in 1994 when a society representative testified before Congress to help ward off reductions in refuge funding that were feared at that time. Society volunteers have written species checklists, trail guides, and information articles for newspapers, given talks and displayed refuge exhibits at community events, and helped conduct teacher workshops.

Picking up on an idea for a new accessible walking trail, society members enlisted the staff members of their local congressional representative to join 100 other worker volunteers on the first day of project construction. In helping to choose the site for the Muddy Creek Holly Trail, Audubon volunteers raised funds to buy wood and, in researching area history, found that George Washington had traveled the old road that the trail follows.

The society continues to co-sponsor a highly successful biennial nature-photography contest, an activity that also keeps the local community involved in the refuge.

Howlett's interest in birds attracted her to the Audubon Society and championing the adoption of Erie NWR, but it also occupies much of her time because she is a part-time ornithological researcher whose studies have included the nesting habits of hooded warblers and solitary vireos. Her skills make her an invaluable resource for workshops and tours at the refuge.

Matching the skills of society members with the needs of the refuge has been a society goal. Howlett says the long partnership with the refuge is due to the society's philosophy to be of service. She says they stay mindful that "we do not want to tell the refuge what to do."

Directions

Interstate 79 to Meadville Exit 36, US-6 east to Meadville, PA-27 east 7 miles to easy left at road sign to Guys Mills, straight through Guys Mills to refuge entrance on right.

For more information, contact Erie NWR, 11296 Wood Duck Lane, Guys Mills, PA 16327-9801, 814-789-3585.

From Refuge Reporter, an independent quarterly journal to increase recognition and support of the National Wildlife Refuge System.

11296 Wood Duck Lane
Guys Mills, Pa 16327
Phone: (814) 789-3585