Manada Conservancy: This request is in support of our Swatara Creek Preserve Expansion and Bird Habitat Enhancement Project Clawson-VanDeHei Preserve. Since Manada Conservancy’s inception nearly 30 years ago, land protection and stewardship along the Swatara Creek has been highly prioritized. The Conservancy owns a 6.5-acre creek-side preserve which, containing woodland, meadow, and wetland, provides diverse wildlife habitats and is regularly used for birding and nature walks. Through the recent acquisition of two parcels neighboring, the preserve has gained space for on-site visitor parking as well as direct access to the Swatara Creek for recreation. ​​​​​Funding received will be used to cover a portion of acquisition expenses such as the survey and environmental study in addition to funding a fall planting to restore the property’s riparian buffer and areas in which invasive plants are being removed this spring.

​​Pymatuning Lake Association: Since 1945, the Pymatuning Lake Association, has striven to preserve, enhance, and promote Pymatuning Lake and its surrounding region through dedicated volunteer-driven efforts and partnership with both the Pennsylvania and Ohio Pymatuning State Park. Funds raised through B4C to assist with the purchase of tools for invasive aquatic plant removal and the creation of outreach materials to teach more Park visitors how to recognize these threatening plant species. We also have a unique opportunity to expand awareness of the conservation needs for bird species in our IBA, such as the Osprey. Along with the expansion of programmatic resources, we also hope to host training sessions with our area wildlife rehabilitation center, who specializes in rehabilitation of waterfowl and raptors. Training sessions would focus on how to recognize a waterfowl or raptor in distress and what to do with it. Use of B4C funds will allow us to hold these sessions for free, increasing the awareness of threats to these birds and how we can help them.

Lycoming Audubon: One of Lycoming Audubon’s most exciting projects is the ongoing ecological restoration of more than 100 acres at the Robert Porter Allen Natural Area, composed of restored grasslands and wetlands along an ancient riverbed of the Susquehanna River. Robert Porter Allen, “the man who saved the Whooping Crane,” and the first National Research Director of the Audubon Society, grew up on this property. B4C funds will augment more than $10,000 that Lycoming Audubon is already investing in the curtailment of invasives on this property, and make possible the continued ecological restoration of grasslands and wetlands by enhancing native plant biodiversity along the riparian edges of the wetlands. In addition to the purchase of native plant species and the ongoing control of invasive plants, PSO funds will provide for educational signs that highlight the value of healthy habitats to birds and other wildlife. Signage will highlight how vital grass meadows are to birds like the Grasshopper Sparrow, which has declined in population by roughly 75% over the past 50 or so years.