Community Day Highlights New Forest Pools Preserve

Public Invited to Explore Preserve, enjoy Wildlife Presentation

CARLISLE, PA — October 9, 2007 — The Nature Conservancy will formally unveil its newest Pennsylvania preserve—the Forest Pools Preserve at Kings Gap—for Conservancy members and the public with a special “Community Day” event from 1-3 p.m. on Sunday Oct. 14, 2007. The preserve is adjacent to Kings Gap Environmental Education Center, about 10 miles southwest of Carlisle.

The public is invited to tour the 70-acre preserve in Cumberland
County and to enjoy a live animal presentation by naturalist Jack

Jack Hubley, of NBC's Wild Moments, will present at Kings Gap © Scott Smith

Hubley of NBC’s Wild Moments. The presentation will feature wildlife native to this part of Pennsylvania and likely to be seen on the preserve. As part of Pennsylvania’s “Buy Fresh, Buy Local” program, the Conservancy will provide free apples from the Kuhn Family Farm in Adams County to guests while supplies last.

“We want the Forest Pools Preserve at Kings Gap to be a recreational resource for all,” said Anne Barrett, The Nature Conservancy’s South Mountain landscape director. “This free event is a chance for people to explore the preserve, learn a few things about Pennsylvania wildlife, and enjoy some local apples.”

After Hubley’s presentation at Kings Gap Environmental Education Center, there will be shuttle service to the preserve where visitors can walk the new level loop trail or enjoy the scenery from benches built by local Boy Scouts, Kings Gap staff and Conservancy volunteers.

The Forest Pools Preserve at Kings Gap was acquired by The Nature Conservancy in December 2006 with support from private donors, Cumberland County and the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources.

The Nature Conservancy identified the preserve as ecologically important because of its exceptional forest habitat—known as Central Appalachian pine-oak forest—as well as for the high-quality vernal pools embedded within it. Vernal pools are shallow natural depressions that seasonally fill with water during spring and fall rains then dry during the summer months. With no fish species present in them, these vernal pools serve as vital breeding and feeding grounds for amphibians, frogs and toads. In recent years, scientists have documented the extinction of 32 amphibian species worldwide; at least 200 are in imminent danger of extinction. During the summer, drying vernal pool basins provide a unique habitat for specially adapted plants, as well as several rare plant species.

Only within the last few decades have scientists begun to understand the importance of vernal pools to the ecology of Pennsylvania’s forests. Yet research has shown that vernal pools are rapidly disappearing due to conversion for development.

“Vernal pools are the basis of the food chain in a forest,” said Barrett. “Their contribution to all forms of forest life is the greatest of any other small community in the forest.”

The Forest Pools Preserve at Kings Gap is part of the South Mountain landscape, an area recognized by the Conservancy as important because of its location within the Central Appalachian forest—a globally important forest and habitat rich in biodiversity. South Mountain contains a unique mix of wildlife and plants, including bobcat, mink and short-eared owls, and has one of the largest collections of vernal pools not only in the state, but in the entire mid-Atlantic region.

The Conservancy’s involvement in South Mountain goes back to 1975, when it bought the land that is now Kings Gap Environmental Education Center and transferred it to the state. In addition to being used by the public for recreation, the Forest Pools Preserve at Kings Gap will be used as a research site for area colleges and universities as well as a site to demonstrate proper vernal pool management for landowners with vernal pools on their property.

If you are interested in attending this free event, please register with The Nature Conservancy by October 12th by calling (717) 232-6001, ext. 126.

The Nature Conservancy is a leading conservation organization working around the world to protect ecologically important lands and waters for nature and people. To date, the Conservancy and its more than one million members have been responsible for the protection of more than 15 million acres in the United States and have helped preserve more than 102 million acres in Latin America, the Caribbean, Asia and the Pacific. Visit The Nature Conservancy on the Web at www.nature.org.