Bensalem Greenway Ecological Assessment and Prioritization Report December 2017 Report for PA Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, Project # BRC-TAG-19-141 Completed by Pennsylvania Environmental Council with Support from Bensalem Greenway Ecological Restoration Advisory Committee Bensalem Greenway Ecological Assessment and Prioritization Report 1 Table of Contents Executive Summary 3 Introduction 4 Grant Tasks 6 Task 1. Ecological Restoration Assessment and Prioritization 7 Task 1.1 Stakeholder Outreach 7 Task 1.2 Data Collection and Site Visits 7 Task 1.3 Confirmation of Prioritization Factors and Site Ranking 19 Task 1.4 Wetland Delineation and Ecological Analysis 24 Task 1.5 Identification of Ecological Restoration Priorities 26 Task 2. Landowner Outreach and Engagement 35 Steps to Finalize Preliminary Draft Report 36 List of Tables, Appendices & Figures 37 References 38 Appendices 39 Appendix A. Bensalem Greenway Ecological Restoration Advisory Committee 39 Appendix B. Neshaminy State Park Ecological Enhancement Design Concepts 40 Appendix C. Pennsylvania Natural Diversity Inventory (PINDI) Receipts & Agency Review Letters 51 Appendix D. Philadelphia Water Assessment of Shoreline Ecological Restoration 65 Appendix E. Wetland Delineation Maps 67 Appendix F. Army Corps of Engineers Wetland Jurisdictional Determination 70 Appendix G. AD Marble Bog Turtle Report 74 Appendix H. Detailed Score Sheet 80 Appendix I. Stakeholder and Public Meeting Notes 83 This project was financed in part by a grant from the Community Conservation Partnerships Program, Keystone Recreation, Park and Conservation Fund, under the administration of the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, Bureau of Recreation and Conservation. 2 Pennsylvania Environmental Council Executive Summary Pennsylvania Environmental Council (PEC) and 57 upland parcels. PEC reviewed these trail will be located. prepared this draft Bensalem Greenway scores to identify higher priority ecological Ecological Assessment and Prioritization Report restoration opportunities. The higher priority PEC initiated and is continuing to conduct under Pennsylvania Department of Conservation restoration opportunities include: landowner outreach and engagement efforts and Natural Resources (DCNR) grant # BRC- to promote restoration projects. PEC issued a TAG-19-141. Ecological restoration opportunities • Sites along the banks of the Delaware River preliminary draft report for review and comment along the Bensalem Greenway were assessed and Neshaminy Creek with forested and among advisory committee stakeholders, and prioritized including areas along and nearby wetland habitats that are currently state landowners in the study area, and other public and the Delaware River. The goal of this assessment and county parklands, as well as larger private stakeholders. PEC notified landowners is to identify and promote ecological restoration private land holdings such as the Waterside with higher priority restoration sites about the opportunities as the greenway trail is planned and Development that have riverfront intertidal study and inquired about their interest in pursuing developed. The conservation and restoration of wetlands. Examples of ecological restoration restoration opportunities. Three public meetings Delaware Riverfront and nearby upland habitats opportunities include enhancement and were held to present report findings. PEC will enable trail users to see and experience expansion of intertidal wetlands, and incorporated comments recieved from Advisory aquatic and terrestrial natural resources as they enhancement of forest understory; Committee members and other stakeholders. This bike, walk, and/or otherwise enjoy the greenway. • Upland areas including public and private draft final report is being submitted to PA DCNR for lands with coastal plain forests and wetlands final review and approval. The greenway study area consists of Bensalem could receive similar restoration treatments. Township between Neshaminy and Poquessing Sections of small tributary streams within these Creeks, from the Delaware River back to the reaches that currently flow through concrete Amtrak rail corridor. Unique habitats in the study channels could also be graded and planted to area include Atlantic Coastal Plain forests and restore more natural pools and riffles; wetlands. This includes pockets of imperiled • Wetland areas interspersed within commercial sweet gum-oak forests and rare freshwater tidal areas could also be enhanced and restored; wetlands. • Connections within and between waterfront and forested habitat corridors could also be To complete this work, PEC assessed ecological better connected to improve habitat corridors. resources and related site conditions in the study area using existing studies and collecting PEC conducted a more focused evaluation of the additional information through site visits, a river’s greenway trail alignment through Bucks County edge paddle survey, and Google Earth reviews. Park and Andalusia Foundation lands in the PEC correlated this resource inventory with center of the greenway. These parcels are mostly parcel ownership to identify ecological restoration undeveloped and contain wetlands and coastal and enhancement opportunities. To do this PEC plain forests. PEC contracted with AD Marble to applied habitat, site-wide, and recreational scoring complete a wetland delineation, bog turtle habitat criteria to assess current conditions and estimate assessment, and other species of special concern the potential “ecological uplift” that could follow review in order to locate an alignment on these restoration activities. two properties that avoids and minimizes trail construction impacts. Based on the results of these PEC calculated current condition and potential assessments a 50 foot wide trail alignment area ecological uplift scores for 37 riverfront parcels was identified through which a 10 to 12 foot wide Bensalem Greenway Ecological Assessment and Prioritization Report 3 Introduction Pennsylvania Environmental Council (PEC) corridor is parallel to and a short distance from ownership to identify ecological restoration and initiated work on this Bensalem Greenway the Delaware River. enhancement opportunities. Ecological Assessment and Prioritization Report project in May of 2014 under a Pennsylvania As the greenway trail is planned and developed, PEC has and will continue to integrate the Department of Conservation and Natural trail developers are pursuing opportunities to findings of this work into regional and local Resources (DCNR) grant (Project # BRC- link trail users to adjacent and nearby cultural, initiatives focused on land revitalization, TAG-19-141). One goal of the DCNR grant is historical, recreational, and natural resource recreation, and ecological restoration. This to assess and prioritize ecological restoration points of interest. This report documents work complements work completed by PEC just opportunities along the Bensalem Greenway activities performed by PEC and partners to down river in Philadelphia (see Philadelphia including sites on and adjacent to the Delaware assess natural resource features and identify North Delaware River Greenway Ecological River. PEC’s William Penn Foundation Trails and ecological restoration opportunities along Assessment and Prioritization Report, Greenway grant also supports this ecological the Bensalem Greenway alignment, focusing November 2009). PEC and partners have restoration work. on the Delaware River shoreline and nearby initiated ecological restoration projects following uplands. PEC considered the study area to be recommendations made in that 2009 report The Bensalem Greenway is a part of the East Bensalem Township land between Neshaminy (e.g. Glen Foerd stream bank restoration and Coast Greenway, an initiative to create a multi- and Poquessing Creeks, from the Delaware River Bridesburg Riverfront Park). Likewise, efforts to use trail system that links cities and towns back to the Amtrak rail corridor (Figure 1). initiate ecological restoration projects along the along the Eastern Seaboard from Maine to Bensalem reach are also underway. Florida. PEC is working with Bensalem Township To complete this work, PEC assessed ecological and other partners on East Coast Greenway resources and related site conditions along trail development in Pennsylvania between the Bensalem Greenway corridor using existing Morrisville and Marcus Hook. The Bensalem information and collecting additional information Greenway portion of the trail follows the State via site visits and a shoreline survey. PEC Road corridor for approximately four miles; this correlated this resource inventory with parcel Neshaminy State Park Delaware River Shoreline 4 Pennsylvania Environmental Council Bensalem Greenway Ecological Assessment and Prioritization Report 5 Grant Tasks This report aligns with DCNR Project # BRC- focused investigation of wetlands, bog turtle Task 2 Landowner Outreach and Engagement TAG-19-141 scope of work Tasks 1 and 2 as habitat, and species of concern on Bucks County follows: and Andalusia Foundation lands that are on Landowners for some of the larger parcels in the proposed greenway trail alignment. This the Bensalem Greenway area were included on Task 1 Ecological Restoration Assessment and includes the Bucks County-owned park land on the Advisory Committee. Additional landowner Prioritization the south side of State Road between Station outreach is underway based on the preliminary