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The Nature Conservancy in Pennsylvania Pennsylvania Home Contact How We Work Places We Protect News Room Upcoming Events Volunteer Ways of Giving |
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Located near historic Gettysburg and Pennsylvania’s state capital of Harrisburg, South Mountain actually represents the northern terminus of Maryland and Virginia’s Blue Ridge Mountains. Stretching across portions of Adams, Cumberland and Franklin counties, forested ridge tops, open meadows, thick marshes and seepage swamps, and spring-fed limestone streams make South Mountain a popular destination for hunters, anglers and wildlife enthusiasts.
The Nature Conservancy’s presence in the South Mountain landscape—at places like Mountain Run Ponds, Mount Holly Marsh and the Kings Gap Environmental Education Center—has been motivated by one of the largest collection of high quality vernal ponds in the Eastern United States. Dotting the base of South Mountain, these shallow bodies of water fill during the winter and early spring, and dry up each summer. Since the pools are temporary, they serve as ideal nurseries for unique plants and animals that would otherwise fall prey to fish and other predators living in more permanent aquatic habitats. Vernal ponds are especially important to numerous frog and salamander species, many in jeopardy on a global scale. In recent years, scientists documented the extinction of 32 amphibian species worldwide, and at least 200 in imminent danger of extinction without stronger protections.
Numerous land-based activities compromise vernal pools. These fragile natural systems are frequently sprayed with insecticides despite the fact that few mosquito larvae survive the voracious appetites of tadpoles and young salamanders. Acid rain and pesticides from nearby farms can severely alter water chemistry, disrupting the intricate web of life that makes the pools so productive. Housing developments, logging operations, and sand and gravel mines also endanger these fragile habitats.
The Nature Conservancy has been working at South Mountain since 2004 to educate local communities and landowners about vernal pools, and advance their preservation. In 2007, the Conservancy and several partners will complete the first statewide inventory of vernal pools. Complementing this effort, a study being conducted in partnership with Messiah College is identifying species, water quality and other physical features specific to vernal pools in Cumberland and Franklin counties. These activities enhance additional efforts to assist interested public and private landowners with protecting vernal pools—and shaping this extraordinary landscape in ways that benefits both nature and people.
