Battling the Emerald Ash Borer

February 2019 — The emerald ash borer is a small green tree pest that has already killed millions of ash trees across the US and is now here in Bucks County. It affects all ash tree species and is expected to kill 99% of all ash trees and up to 50% of our total tree canopy.

On Thursday, February 22, we learned what we can do to minimize the impact from Donald Eggen of the Bureau of  Forestry and Kendra McMillin from Beyond Management LLC at a standing-room only event at the Tinicum Elementary School.

THE HISTORY

We first wrote about the massive threat posed by the Emerald Ash Borer (EAB) to Pennsylvania’s forests, landscapes, and ecosystems in the Spring 2013 Common Ground. Unfortunately, infestations of the Asian green beetle continue to be a serious concern. Foresters and biologists are still working to find a chemical or biological control, but for now, Pennsylvania’s 300 million ash trees are vulnerable and if infected, will die quickly.

A balanced or “selective” management approach may include removal of some trees, treatment with insecticides, and replanting with other natives. Ideally, treatment of some native ash trees, especially rarer species, will provide a seed source for future collection and preservation of their local genome. Ottsville’s Martie and Neil Kyde decided that losing even one of their ash trees was not an option. They hired an arborist who spent a day on their 30-acre, forested property identifying and tagging 39 ash trees with diameters of 4” or more. Next, licensed applicators spent a day injecting the trees with a chemical pesticide (Emamectin benzoate), mixed and measured specifically for each tree, to protect them from the EAB for at least two years.

If you're concerned about the health and survival of the ash trees on your property, we recommend you speak with more than one professional (such as a forester, arborist, or resource protection expert) to find the best fit for your personal vision, resource management goals and financial needs. Remember, the strategy that works for your neighbor may not be the best fit for you, so it's always good to gather as much information as possible.

ADVICE AND ANSWERS

Donald A. Eggen, PhD.

Don is the Forest Health Manager at the Bureau of Forestry. He is happy to answer any questions regarding the biology and ecology of the Emerald Ash Borer. He can also direct you to other helpful resources. Call him at 717-787-2336 or email at deggen@pa.gov

Kendra McMillin

Kendra is a resource management professional at Beyond Land Management, LLC, that can develop management plans for battling the Emerald Ash Borer. She can also direct both qualifying municipalities and private landowners to available grants to help allay the cost of treatment. She can be reached at 610-909-2888 or at klmacmill@me.com

SERVICE FORESTERS

 The DCNR Bureau of Forestry has assigned a service forester to each county. These individuals offer information and advice to managers of rural and community forests and are a resource for the citizens of Pennsylvania, helping to guide landowners and residents in the practice of sustainable forestry. The designated forester for Bucks County is Heather Kerr. You can reach her at (610) 489-8326 or at hkerr@pa.gov

For a list of foresters in other counties, visit the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation & Natural Resources.

OTHER RESOURCES

For more information about the emerald ash borer, visit these helpful resources:

USDA - What is the Emerald Ash Borer?

USDA - EAB Pest Alert

The Emerald Ash Borer Information Network

Penn State College of Agricultural Sciences

Pennsylvania Department of  Conservation and Natural Resources

View the USDA & Forest Service Publication: The Role of Bio-Control of Emerald Ash Borer here.

View the NABB, DNR, & Purdue University EAB Decision Guide here.

LOCAL  COVERAGE

From The Intelligencer: Bucks Beautiful Launches a Project to Replace Ash Trees

DEP Considers Relaxed Protections for Tohickon Creek

July 9, 2019 — The Intelligencer. Link: https://www.theintell.com/news/20190708/dep-considers-relaxed-standards-for-tohickon-creek

Recent Easements in Key Watershed Lands Spanning Tinicum and Nockamixon

January 2019 — "Giving Back" could be the motto for owners of two properties that recently came under conservation easement through the Tinicum Conservancy. In all, more than 100 acres are newly conserved, bringing the total acreage protected by the Conservancy to 4,900. One property lies on the northern edge of Tinicum Township, and the other is in Nockamixon Township. One includes a portion of Beaver Run Creek and the other a section of Gallows Run Creek.

Jennifer McCandless

For Jennifer McCandless, the decision to conserve more than 60 acres in Nockamixon was never in doubt. She was given the property by the previous owners, Dean and Louise Pine, who had talked about preserving the land but had never acted on it.

McCandless provides home-care for the elderly and one of her first clients was Dean Pine. When Dean passed away, Jennifer and Louise continued their friendship.

"I would go to her house to have tea," Jennifer says. She went with Louise to run errands and took her shopping. Louise felt that Jennifer was like a daughter, and when she suddenly fell ill, she told Jennifer that she was leaving the house and property to her.

Since then, says Jennifer, "I've been trying to give back." Her mother, who lives on the property, regularly hosts the Bucks County Expressionist Group to spend time there painting and photographing. "We love sharing the property with others," Jennifer says.

Primarily forested, the land lies between the Coffman Hill and Cooks Creek Conservation Landscapes and includes a half mile of Gallows Run Creek, which flows directly into the Delaware River. It is contiguous with 183 acres of protected agricultural easement land, and is adjacent to Camp Nockamixon.  Among other scenic resources, there's a breathtaking stretch along Traugers Crossing Road as it follows forested slopes close by Gallows Run for roughly 1,000 feet at the property's eastern edge.

The easement was a collaboration between the Conservancy, the Bucks County Natural Areas Program, and the Nockamixon Township Open Space Board.

Trevor and Linda McNeill

Trevor and Linda McNeill have given back as well--not only by protecting their 30-acre property on Tammany Road, but going further by purchasing an additional 20 acres, and putting all 50 acres under easement. Their land is in Upper Black Eddy, within the Coffman Hill Conservation Landscape, and includes 900 feet of Beaver Run Creek, a tributary of Tinicum Creek. The additional 20 acres purchased by the McNeills were owned by the Heritage Conservancy. That land is adjacent to the McNeills on one side and to 620 acres of PA State Game Lands on the other three sides.

Heritage Conservancy wasn't using the land programmatically and considered selling it to the Game Lands, which will not accept land with any sort of restrictions (not just related to hunting, but to industrial use as well). So the McNeills really "stood up" for conservation by taking on and ensuring the protection of these additional 20 acres. The Conservancy was pleased to partner with Heritage on a deal that benefits all. The easement was completed with help from the Bucks County Natural Areas Program; though they qualified, the McNeills sought no township funding.

Trevor McNeill was born and raised in Plumstead Township; he crossed the Tohickon to make the move into Tinicum in 1994. Linda has lived here since 1981. They have both worked diligently on behalf of Tinicum Township and for preservation. She has held the township manager position for 20 years; he has served on the Planning Commission for 15. Their easement also continues a family legacy of land protection: Trevor's father was on the Plumstead Planning Commission and fought to bring about Plumstead's first zoning ordinance. Years ago, his mother was one of the first to buy a property for the stated purpose of putting it under easement with the Conservancy.

Conserving their land "achieves our personal goal of land preservation, and also the County's Natural Areas Program goal to preserve significant natural resources,” says Linda. In addition to the section of the creek, the property includes a large forested wetland, many natural springs and at least one vernal pond. Along with the beauty and quiet, "happily interrupted by birds, tree frogs, and bull frogs depending on the time of year," notes Trevor, the McNeills especially enjoy their woodlands, with mature beech trees, wildflowers, ferns, and diabase boulders.

The McCandless and McNeill easements help fulfill the Tinicum Conservancy's mandate to protect watershed land. The properties form an ever-growing web of healthy habitat that in turn will help protect and improve the water quality of the Delaware River and its tributaries.

Tohickon Creek Property Protected

December 20, 2017 — Paul Coleman and Charlene Koretz wanted to protect their Tohickon Creek property several years ago, but the cost associated with donating the conservation easement was more than they felt they could incur.

However, last year they were approached again by Norm MacArthur, Chair of the Tinicum Township Land Preservation Committee, and Jim Engel, executive director of the Tinicum Conservancy, with a new financial incentive that made their wishes possible: the Tinicum Township Supervisors had recently passed a resolution agreeing to reimburse landowners for the costs associated with completing conservation easements.

This was exactly what Paul and Charlene were hoping for, and on December 14th they signed the conservation easement. The agreement permanently protects their property, including more than 700 feet of the creek, from future over-development.

Conservancy President Boyce Budd on Well Contamination 

December 1, 2016 — You may have seen recent headlines about contaminated drinking water around the Willow Grove Naval Air Station in Horsham and the Naval Air Development Center in Warminster. It appears that at least 16 public and about 140 private wells in those nearby towns contain unsafe levels of two perflourinated compounds— perfluorooctane sulfonoate (PFOS) and perfluoroctanoic acid (PFOA).

 Officials suspect the contamination resulted from military firefighting exercises using PFOA foam. The compounds PFOA and PFOS were developed in the 1950s and used for decades in products such as firefighting foam, nonstick coatings, textiles, semiconductors, and paper products. Their toxicity has only recently been recognized and both are now classified by the EPA as “emergent contaminants.”

These contaminants are extremely persistent in theenvironment and resist typical degradation processes. “Safe” levels have not been determined. Nationwide testing has found that the drinking water of 6.5 million Americans in 27 states is tainted by PFOA. And PFOA/PFOS exposure has been linked to increases in rates of cancer and reproductive and developmental problems.

The public wells in Horsham and Warminster with elevated levels of these compounds have been taken off line. Homeowners with private wells that exceed the EPA’s advisory level are being supplied with bottled water. There is currently no clear answer regarding how or when our neighbors’ water supplies will be cleaned up. As I write this, Gov. Wolf is calling on the military to pay for blood testing for 70,000 Bucks and Montgomery County residents.

This is a sad story happening very close to home, and a real-life illustration that when we put contaminants into the environment the impacts are often unknown and long-lasting. Mitigating or remediating these impacts is difficult and costly. A key focus for the Conservancy is the protection of our water resources by preserving the land around our streams and watersheds. We are blessed with high quality water resources in Tinicum and Upper Bucks. And we are doing our best to keep them pristine.

Rapp Creek Property Protected

February 23, 2016 — New conservation easements have secured the protection of an additional 2/3 of a mile of land along Rapp Creek.  Two adjacent properties, one in Nockamixon and the other in Tinicum Township, have been placed under conservation easement.  This noteworthy accomplishment was made possible through the generosity of two landowners, Jim Diamond of Nockamixon, and Michael Smith and his wife, Paula Chamlee, of Tinicum Township.  The Tinicum Conservancy, worked together with Nockamixon Township, Tinicum Township and the Bucks County Municipal Open Space Program to bring these easements to fruition.

Jim Diamond has a long history of community and environmental activism in Nockamixon.  In the 1960’s it was Jim, then Professor of Agriculture at Delaware Valley College, who spurred the investigation into chemical dumping along Rapp Creek by Echo Chemical Company (later known as Revere Chemical). He and his wife were initially shunned by neighbors who feared jobs might be lost, but when Revere Chemical caused 42 neighboring wells to run dry the whole community got onboard.  In 1969 Revere Chemical was shut down by the State of Pennsylvania.  Largely because of Jim’s efforts, the Creek has now evolved from its once toxic conditions to its current Exceptional Value designation, the highest ranking the state can give to a waterway!

Jim’s 38-acre property is aptly named “Clearwater Dell”.  It parallels about 1600 feet along Rapp Creek and was formerly leased for “fracking”, but the lease was extinguished after Arbor Resources abandoned gas development in this area.  The new easement was partially donated by Mr. Diamond and more than a decade in the making.  It permanently prevents any surface drilling and limits activities that could damage riparian and aquatic habitats or cause pollution to enter the creek.

“It is the legacy that a landowner leaves to future generations,” Jim declared.

The property of Michael Smith and Paula Chamlee borders 2,000 feet along the Tinicum Creek and is adjacent to the Diamond conservation easement.   In this mostly forested location Michael and Paula live and carry out the work of their non-profit, Arts of our Times, Inc.  Both are highly accomplished artists and photographers.  The funding that they have received from Tinicum Conservancy and Tinicum Township represents approximately ½ the value of their conservation easement.  This means they are donating the other 50% of the development value of the property.

These two new easements represent another step forward in protecting the watersheds of Tinicum, Rapp, and Beaver Run Creeks and highlight the connectedness of the waterways upon which Tinicum and Nockamixon mutually depend.  These newly protected properties become part of 300+ contiguous acres of land permanently preserved by conservation easement including a 48 acre property conserved in 2011 by the Tinicum Conservancy and located upstream from the current projects.  May this success story continue for the benefit of all members of this idyllic corner of Bucks County!

Extinguishing Oil and Gas Leases in Upper Bucks

February 8, 2016 — The Tinicum Conservancy is implementing a strategy to extinguish unwanted oil and gas leases on properties in Upper Bucks County—a first by a conservation organization in Pennsylvania.

“I’m excited about this entirely new kind of conservation success. Although individuals have had some success extinguishing leases, this is the first comprehensive strategy put in place to remove multiple leases over a large area. We are extremely encouraged by the success of our test cases,” said Executive Director Jim Engel.

There are more than 350 gas leases in Nockamixon, Tinicum, and Bridgeton Townships; many are in and around ecologically important areas and watersheds, including the Upper Tinicum Creek, a PA-designated Exceptional Value stream.

Although current economic, political, and geologic realities make it unlikely that we will see gas drilling in our area in the foreseeable future, a gas lease attached to a property may devalue it, hinder its sale, or prevent a landowner from signing a conservation easement protecting it permanently. Easements often bring tax benefits and cash compensation to landowners, but many benefits are not available for properties with existing leases under township, county, or state funding rules.

The core of Tinicum Conservancy’s mission is land conservation; as a local, community-based, land conservation group it sees extinguishing oil and gas leases in the area as a conservation success in and of itself. Ideally, once a lease is lifted, these properties will be conserved. The Conservancy wants to work with landowners not only to navigate the process of extinguishing oil and gas leases, but also to explore a conservation easement (and available funding and compensation). However, commitment to an easement is not a requirement for assistance from the Conservancy.

“Our initial test cases have been a great success. The removal of additional leases from landowners’ titles can only be a net benefit for the entire community. We look forward to making that a reality,” said Conservancy President Boyce Budd.

“I encourage any landowner who is interested in removing a gas lease from their deed to contact our Executive Director, Jim Engel at 610-294-1077.”