Buffalo Creek field guide in the works
From the American kestrel to the yellow trout lily, a pocket field guide containing color illustrations and descriptions of some of the 1,200 species of animals and plants that inhabit the Buffalo Creek watershed will be available this summer.
The Audubon Society of Western Pennsylvania produced the field guide, using part of a $30,000 grant from the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources.
The society plans to distribute the first 1,000 copies for free in conjunction with the grand opening of the $1.5 million Babcock Nature Center at the Buffalo Creek Nature Park on Monroe Road in Sarver after it is completed in June.
“The Buffalo Creek watershed is such a diverse region with high biodiversity,” said Sarah Koenig, Audubon Society conservation director. “The new guide is dedicated to the watershed because it is such a rich region.”
All 1,200 species that can be found in the watershed wouldn't fit in the guide. As a result, the society selected the ones that people are most likely to see while fishing, hiking, biking or birdwatching, Koenig said.The guide, which is laminated to be waterproof for field use, features detailed illustrations and brief descriptions of birds, mammals, fish, reptiles and amphibians, macroinvertebrates, wildflowers, nonvascular organisms and trees and shrubs. A map and description of the 171-mile watershed that spans Butler and Armstrong counties is included in the guide.Koenig said the society will seek more funding, so the additional guides being printed after the grand opening can be given away.Society naturalists used sightings in the watershed and a watershed conservation plan developed in 2008 to identify the species and develop the illustrations and descriptions for the guide.“It's definitely designed for the field,” Koenig said. “We have a team of really amazing naturalists that work for Audubon.”In addition to the guide, the grant is being used by the society to host land-management workshops for property owners. She said a series of land management workshops was held last fall and more are being planned for April.The 2,400-square-foot Babcock Nature Center, named after the Babcock Charitable Trust, which donated $500,000 toward construction, is being built on a six-acre parcel between Buffalo Creek and the Buffalo-Freeport Community Trail.A 1,200-square-foot pavilion is also part of the $1.5 million project, which is about 80% complete, said Brian Shema, Audubon operations director.“We are building a small nature center with a small retail area and a dedicated classroom,” Shema said. “Outside of the center, we're building an outdoor pavilion.”Audubon has an agreement with Buffalo Township, which owns five of the six acres, to manage the nature park, he said.The classroom will be used for public programming, and the store will sell gifts for bird watching, backyard bird feeding and other activities involving nature. A playground will be built, and a bike rental concession is being considered, Shema said.The center is being constructed near Audubon's 275-acre Todd Nature Reserve on Kepple Road in Sarver.The reserve began after part of the Todd family's Hazelwood Farm was donated to Audubon in 1942. The gift marked the first piece of land owned by the society.“We've had a long commitment to that area,” said Jim Bonner, Audubon executive director. “We always wanted an area for public engagement there.“We're really in the people business. We connect people with birds and nature.”The center's core was the foundation of the Oregon Hunting and Fishing Club building that was demolished in advance of construction, Bonner said.He said the foundation was raised 3 feet to get it out of the creek's floodplain.In addition to the donation from the Babcock Charitable Trust, $250,000 was donated by the Richard King Mellon Foundation and another $250,000 was donated by a foundation that wished not to be identified, Bonner said.The state conservation and natural resources department provided $200,000, and the state Department of Community and Economic Development provided $225,000 for the project, he said.
