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Butler County Natural Heritage Inventory Update 2021

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Butler County Natural Heritage Inventory Update 2021 Butler County Natural Heritage Inventory 2021 Update Anna Johnson and Christopher Tracey, editors Prepared for: Southwest Pennsylvania Commission 112 Washington Pl #500 Pittsburgh, PA 15219 Prepared by: Pennsylvania Natural Heritage Program 800 Waterfront Drive Pittsburgh, PA 15222 Please cite this Natural Heritage Inventory report as: Johnson, Anna and Christopher Tracey, editors. 2021. Butler County Natural Heritage Inventory. Pennsylvania Natural Heritage Program. Pittsburgh, PA. 1 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS We would like to acknowledge the citizens and landowners of Butler County and surrounding areas who volunteered infor- mation, time, and effort to the inventory and granted permission to access land. A big thank you goes to those who suggested areas of interest, provided data, and assisted with field surveys. Additional thanks goes to Ryan Gordon of the Southwest Pennsylvania Commission for providing support for this project. Advisory Committee to the 2021 update to the Butler County Natural Heritage Inventory: • Mark Gordon — Butler County Director of Planning and Economic Development • Joel MacKay — Butler County Planner • Sheryl Kelly — Butler County Environment Specialist We want to recognize the Pennsylvania Natural Heritage Program and NatureServe for providing the foundation for the work that we perform for these studies. Current and former PNHP staff that contributed to this report includes JoAnn Albert, Jaci Braund, Charlie Eichelberger, Kierstin Carlson, Mary Ann Furedi, Steve Grund, Amy Jewitt, Anna Johnson, Susan Klugman, John Kunsman, Betsy Leppo, Jessica McPherson, Molly Moore, Ryan Miller, Greg Podniesinski, Megan Pulver, Erika Schoen, Scott Schuette, Emily Szoszorek, Kent Taylor, Christopher Tracey, Natalie Virbitsky, Jeff Wagner, Denise Watts, Joe Wisgo, Pete Woods, David Yeany, and Ephraim Zimmerman. The species information utilized in the inventory came from many sources as well as our own field surveys. We wish to acknowledge all of those who carried out botanical and zoological survey work over the years. Biologists, both on their own and from institutions and agencies such as the Carnegie Museum of Natural History, the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, the Pennsylvania Game Commission, and the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission have contributed numerous plant and animal records over the years. The task of inventorying the natural heritage of the county would have been much more difficult and incomplete without this tremendous pool of information gathered by many people over many years. Finally, we especially wish to thank the landowners who granted us permission to conduct inventories on their lands. Without their support, this report would have been far less complete. This project was funded through a grant provided by the DCNR Community Conservation Partnership Program. This project also benefited from previous and current work supported by a variety of funding sources including DCNR’s Wild Resources Conservation Program, the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission, the Pennsylvania Game Commission, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The success of the report will be measured by the use it receives and the utility it serves to those making decisions about resources and land use throughout the county. Thank you for your interest. Anna Johnson Christopher Tracey Connservation Planner Conservation Planning Manager [email protected] [email protected] 412-586-2389 412-586-2326 1 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS page i Butler County Natural Heritage Inventory Contents 1 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS i 2 THE PENNSYLVANIA NATURAL HERITAGE PROGRAM 1 3 INTRODUCTION 2 4 BIODIVERSITY IN PENNSYLVANIA 4 5 NATURAL HISTORY OVERVIEW OF BUTLER COUNTY 6 5.1 Land Cover . 6 5.2 Physiography & Geology . 7 5.3 Watersheds . 8 5.4 Natural Communities . 9 5.5 Regional Disturbances . 11 5.6 Forest Fragmentation . 12 5.7 Invasive Species . 14 5.7.1 Invasive Plants . 14 5.7.2 Invasive Animal Species . 14 5.7.3 Overall Invasive Species Recommendations . 15 6 METHODS 17 6.1 Field Work and Data Management . 17 6.2 Natural Heritage Area Mapping . 17 6.3 Site Accounts . 18 6.3.1 PNHP Element Ranks . 18 6.3.2 Federal and State Status . 19 6.3.3 Quality Ranks . 20 6.4 Site Ranking . 20 6.5 Mapping and Conservation Planning for Sensitive Species . 20 7 RESULTS 22 7.1 Butler CNHI Update Changes . 22 7.1.1 Changes in number of significant ecological features and shape of NHA mapping . 22 7.1.2 Document layout . 22 7.2 Species and Communities of Concern in Butler County . 23 7.3 Natural Heritage Areas of Butler County . 27 7.4 Planning for Sensitive Species . 31 7.4.1 Indiana Bat (Myotis sodalis) ........................................ 31 7.4.2 Wood Turtle (Glyptemys insculpta) ................................... 32 7.4.3 Woodland Box Turtle (Terrapene carolina carolina) ......................... 32 8 CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS 33 8.1 Future Natural Resource Research in the Region . 33 8.2 A Final Note on Rare, Threatened, and Endangered Species . 33 8.3 Using the Natural Heritage Inventory in the Planning Process . 33 8.4 General Recommendations . 34 8.4.1 Consider conservation initiatives for natural heritage areas on private land . 34 8.4.2 Prepare management plans that address species of concern and natural communities . 34 8.4.3 Protect bodies of water . 35 8.4.4 Provide for natural buffers in and around natural heritage areas . 35 8.4.5 Reduce fragmentation of the landscape surrounding natural heritage areas . 35 8.4.6 Manage for invasive species . 36 8.4.7 Encourage conservation work by grassroots organizations . 36 9 REFERENCES AND LITERATURE CITED 37 10 NATURAL HERITAGE AREA SITE ACCOUNTS 38 CONTENTS page ii Butler County Natural Heritage Inventory 2 THE PENNSYLVANIA NATURAL HERITAGE PROGRAM The Pennsylvania Natural Heritage Program (PNHP) is a partnership between the Western Pennsylvania Con- servancy (WPC), the Pennsylvania Department of Con- servation and Natural Resources (DCNR), the Pennsyl- vania Game Commission (PGC), and the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission (PFBC). Founded in 1982, PNHP is part of a network of Natural Heritage Pro- NatureServe, the natural heritage network, was originally grams that utilizes common methodology developed by Her- founded by The Nature Conservancy in the early 1970s, itage Programs and The Nature Conservancy, and refined with the first program established in South Carolina in through NatureServe – the organization that represents 1974. The concept was to create a federation of pro- the network of Natural Heritage Programs (see sidebar at grams in all 50 U.S. states, using a common database and right). data management methodology, to document the extent of biodiversity throughout the country with an emphasis PNHP collects and stores location and baseline ecolog- on rare and threatened species and natural communities. ical information about rare plants, rare animals, unique Many programs were established with state environmen- plant communities, significant habitats, and geologic fea- tal protection or natural resource agencies, while some tures in Pennsylvania. The PNHP database is Penn- are housed in universities. Pennsylvania’s partnership with sylvania’s chief storehouse of such information with al- three agencies and a non-profit is unique among the programs. most 30,000 detailed digital occurrence records. Though not a regulatory organization, as part of its function, Over time the heritage network has expanded throughout PNHP provides expert input on species impacted by Canada and 12 Latin American countries. In 1994, the projects that require permits issued by the Pennsylva- Association for Biodiversity Information (ABI) was founded nia Department of Environmental Protection (DEP). Al- to more closely coordinate activities of the network, and though data from PNHP feed into the environmen- ABI transformed into NatureServe in 2001 as The Nature tal review tool known as the Pennsylvania Natural Conservancy transferred administration of the network to Diversity Inventory (PNDI), the process of environ- NatureServe. mental review is housed within DCNR, PFBC, and PGC. All programs in the heritage network use a common data man- agement system outlined on these pages, based on the original As part of the information maintained by PNHP, a system of concepts of elements, element occurrences, and rarity ranks. global ranks and state ranks is used to describe the relative Today, the NatureServe network stands as the most compre- degree of rarity for species and natural communities. This hensive source of information on the locations and status of system is especially useful in understanding how imperiled a biodiversity and natural communities throughout the western resource is throughout its range, as well as understanding the hemisphere. rarity of resources that do not have official state status, such as invertebrate animals and natural communities. A summary of global and state ranks can be found in the methods section. PNHP is valuable for its ability to supply technically sound data that can be applied to natural resource decisions. Information on the occurrences of elements of special concern (species and natural communities) gathered from museums, universities, colleges, and recent fieldwork by professionals throughout the state is used by PNHP to identify the areas of highest natural integrity and significance in Butler County. The Butler County Natural Heritage Inventory (CNHI) report presents the known outstanding natural
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