Conservation and Stewardship Plan for the Crum Woods of Swarthmore College
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Conservation and Stewardship Plan for the Crum Woods of Swarthmore College prepared by December 2003 Conservation and Stewardship Plan for the Crum Woods of Swarthmore College Hildacy Farm 1031 Palmers Mill Road P.O. Box 57 Media, PA 19063 Rose Valley, PA 19086-0057 610-353-5587 610-565-3405 [email protected] [email protected] www.natlands.org David B. Steckel Roger Earl Latham Director of Natural Resource Stewardship Ecologist ~ Conservation Biologist Holly M. Harper Stewardship Planning Program Manager Diane C. Rosencrance GIS Coordinator/Cartographer December 2003 Acknowledgments We are grateful to the many people who have provided information, advice, and critiques of earlier versions of the report. Special thanks are due Dr. Jennie Keith (Professor, Department of Sociology and Anthropology, formerly the Provost) for her pivotal part in the creation of the Crum Woods Stewardship Committee; Dr. Seth Major ’91 (formerly Visiting Assistant Professor, Department of Physics and Astronomy, now Department of Physics, Hamilton College) for fostering concern in the College commu- nity for Crum Woods stewardship issues; and Janet Williams (formerly Senior Research Associate, Department of Biology) for sharing her seasoned knowledge of the Crum Woods’ natural landscape and bird life. For their support and input, we thank Crum Woods Stewardship Committee members, past and present: Dr. Betsy Bolton (Department of English Literature); Maurice Eldridge ’61 (College and Community Relations); Dr. Carr Everbach (Department of Engineering); Randy Exon (Department of Art); Stu Hain (Facilities Management); Jen Holzer ’05 (student); Jeff Jabco (Facilities and Grounds and Scott Arbore- tum); Dr. Mark Jacobs (Department of Biology); Jen Johnson ’05 (student); Dr. José Luis Machado (Department of Biology); Dr. Art McGarity (Department of Engineering); Dr. Rachel Merz (Department of Biology); Brendan Moriarity ’04 (student); Jeff Regier ’03 (student); Claire Sawyers (Scott Arboretum); Larry Schall ’72 (Administration); and Amanda Schneider ’02 (student). Others at the College who have kindly contributed time and information include: Andrew Bunting (Scott Arboretum); Astrid Devaney (Alumni Relations); Woody Frazier (Facilities Management); Doug Hasbrouke (formerly Capital Giv- ing); Josephine Hopkins (Scott Arboretum); Connie Hungerford (Provost); Lisa Lee (Alumni Relations); Owen Redgrave (Public Safety); Anteneh Tesfaye ’03 (student); Tom Valente (Department of Biology); and Dr. Tim Williams ’64 (formerly Department of Biology). We are indebted to members of other institutions, agencies, organizations, and the greater Swarthmore community who have contributed in various ways to this effort, including participants in stakeholder interviews and respondents to surveys, who are too numerous to name. Those who have provided information and advice include: Dr. Hank Art (Center for Environmental Studies, Williams College); Judith Auten (Chester Ridley Crum Watershed Association); Jane Billings (Borough of Swarthmore); Virginia “Shorty” Boucher ’73 (University of California, Davis); Jerry Breitmayer (Nether Providence Township); Christopher D. Burkett (Gilmore & Associates, Inc., Engineering and Consulting Services); Brian Chikotas (Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission); Roger K. “Skip” Conant (naturalist in Springfield); Darren David (Southeast Region, Pennsylvania Game Commission); Glenn Dreyer (Goodwin-Niering Center for Conservation Biology and Environmental Studies, Connecticut College); Dr. Aaron Ellison (formerly Department of Biological Sciences, Mount Holyoke College); Bob Frey (Water Quality Monitoring and Assessment, Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection); Helen Stabler Grinstead (former Crumwald Farm resident, now in Walnut Creek, California); Dr. Ann Herzig (formerly Bryn Mawr College); Drew Jones (Hopkins Memorial Forest, Williams College); Dan Kane (Buckeye Pipeline Company); Dr. Sharon Kinsman (Department of Biology, Bates College); Judy Marden (Bates-Morse Mountain Conservation Area, Bates College); Dr. Scott McRobert (St. Joseph’s University); Dr. Meg Ronsheim (Department of Biology, Vassar College); Cuzzy Rowles (Borough of Swarthmore); Dr. Mark Schlessman (Department of Biology, Vassar College); Bryon Shissler (Natural Resource Consultants, Inc., Fort Hill, Pennsylvania); Sue Van Hook (Department of Biology, Skidmore College); and Ben Yagoda (Department of English, University of Delaware). Citing this document Latham, R. E., D. B. Steckel, H. M. Harper and D. C. Rosencrance. 2003. Conservation and Stewardship Plan for the Crum Woods of Swarthmore College. Report for Swarthmore College, Swarthmore, Pennsylvania by Natural Lands Trust, Media, Pennsylvania and Continental Conservation, Rose Valley, Pennsylvania. 145 pp. + 19 maps. Conservation and Stewardship Plan for the Crum Woods of Swarthmore College Introduction........................................................................................................ 1 1.0 Inventory .................................................................................................... 3 1.1 The Setting for Ecological Processes.................................................................................3 1.2 Community and Ecosystem Diversity ...........................................................................20 1.3 Organismal Diversity ........................................................................................................30 1.4 Existing Uses .......................................................................................................................32 2.0 Conservation and Stewardship Priorities..............................47 2.1 Programmatic Priorities....................................................................................................47 2.2 Ecosystem Function Priorities .........................................................................................52 3.0 Threats ........................................................................................................63 3.1 Threats to Programmatic Priorities.................................................................................63 3.2 Threats to Forest and Wildlife Habitat Integrity .........................................................64 3.3 Threats to Stream Water, Aquatic Community, and Soil Integrity ..........................72 4.0 General Recommendations ............................................................76 4.1 Role of Crum Woods .........................................................................................................76 4.2 Land Conservation Priority .............................................................................................76 4.3 Oversight and Management Infrastructure ..................................................................77 4.4 Vegetation Management and Restoration .....................................................................82 4.5 Wildlife Management........................................................................................................86 4.6 Stormwater Management .................................................................................................88 4.7 Riparian Areas ....................................................................................................................89 4.8 Trails .....................................................................................................................................90 4.9 Aesthetics and Hazards.....................................................................................................90 4.10 Swarthmore Farm Plateau................................................................................................91 4.11 Task Prioritization..............................................................................................................94 5.0 Management Units ..............................................................................96 5.1 Upland Forests....................................................................................................................96 5.2 Wetland Forests................................................................................................................112 5.3 Marsh and Shrub Swamps..............................................................................................117 5.4 Meadows/Shrublands ....................................................................................................118 5.5 Landscaped/Culturally Modified Areas.....................................................................119 Conservation and Stewardship Plan for the Crum Woods of Swarthmore College 6.0 Monitoring Program ........................................................................127 6.1 Adaptive Resource Management..................................................................................127 6.2 Potential Adaptive Resource Management Plan for Crum Woods ........................128 References Cited............................................................................................134 Figures 1 Location 2 Site Plan of Campus Woods 3 Crum Creek Watershed Land Cover 4 Plant Communities, Campus Woods 5 Plant Communities, Martin Forest 6 Forest Invasion by Introduced Plant Species, Campus Woods 7 Forest Invasion by Introduced Plant Species, Martin Forest 8 Natural Areas, Campus Woods 9 Natural Areas, Martin Forest 10 Athletic Field Scenario: Existing Conditions 11 Athletic Field Scenario: Build-Out