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Juniata Valley Audubon’s Recommendations Regarding
Revision of Blair County Comprehensive Plan
By JVAS Conservation Chair Dr. Stan Kotala
For the JVAS Board of Directors
Board members of Juniata Valley Audubon strongly believe that the Blair County Comprehensive Plan must reflect the principles of conservation biology — that is, the recognition and protection of core natural areas (>10,000 acres) and corridors connecting these areas. During the public comment period, Blair County residents voiced a clear call for increased attention to conservation and preservation of the natural attributes that make the county unique. “Quality of Life in Blair County: Citizens’ Perspective” lists management and control of development and preservation of natural areas as the top two concerns of the county’s residents. Environmental protection is listed among the top four concerns.
- Core natural areas should be protected from
development, including road construction. Core natural
areas in Blair County include, from east to west,
Tussey Mountain, Canoe Mountain, Brush Mountain, Bald
Eagle Mountain, Lock Mountain, Dunning Mountain, and
the Allegheny Front. Core natural areas serve as
relatively undisturbed sites where natural processes
occur with minimal human interference. These core areas
consist almost entirely of unbroken forest and should be
maintained as such. Tax incentives, the purchase of
development rights, and outright acquisition are tools
that can be used to preserve these areas.
- Corridors connecting natural areas should be
protected from development, including road construction.
Corridors connecting Blair County’s core natural
areas include, from north to south, the Bald Eagle
Creek corridor, the Little Juniata River
Corridor, and the Frankstown Branch of the Juniata
River corridor. Corridors facilitate the dispersion
of wildlife and plant populations between core natural
areas. Tax incentives, the purchase of development
rights, and outright acquisition are tools that can be
used to preserve these areas.
- Wetlands, floodplains, and steep slopes should
be protected from development. Blair County has already
lost a large percentage of its wetlands and cannot afford
to lose more. Of the wetlands that remain in Blair
County, the majority have been degraded by pollution from
adjacent development. Wetlands should be connected to
natural landscapes adjoining them and not cut off by
roads, parking lots, and buildings. Wetlands and adjacent
natural habitat act in synergy, not in isolation.
Preserving wetlands in isolation from other natural
habitats retains the flood-control function of wetlands
but reduces their biological functions. Many organisms,
such as spotted turtles, bog turtles, marbled
salamanders, spotted salamanders, red-spotted newts, wood
frogs, and spring peepers, require both wetland and
upland habitats to complete their life cycles. Tax
incentives, the purchase of conservation easements,
outright acquisition, and regulation can be used to
encourage conservation and preservation of areas adjacent
to wetlands so that these areas may maintain their
ecological functions.
The preservation of wetlands, floodplains, and steep slopes (>20% grade) will decrease the volume and velocity of flood waters. Wetlands act as sponges, absorbing water during rain events and releasing it slowly during dry periods. Floodplains allow flood waters to spread out unimpeded, thus reducing both the volume and velocity of water affecting downstream areas. By protecting steep slopes in their natural (forested) state, we not only provide an area for rainwater to soak in, but also reduce the velocity of runoff. Forests absorb hundreds of times more rainwater than do developed areas.
Development in wetland areas is regulated by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Development in floodplains and on steep slopes is regulated by local municipalities.
- Areas designated as Biological Diversity Areas
(BDAs) by the Blair County Natural Heritage Inventory
should be protected from development. Blair County has
contracted with the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy to
conduct an inventory of the county and designate areas of
exceptional significance. Areas designated as Biological
Diversity Areas represent unique habitats that should be
preserved in their natural state. BDAs are relatively
small areas that serve as critical habitat for one or
more species of special concern. Tax incentives, the
purchase of development rights, and outright acquisition
are tools that can be used to preserve these areas.
- Areas designated as Landscape Conservation Areas
(LCAs) by the Blair County Natural Heritage Inventory
should receive a higher level of conservation priority,
that is, only limited development. Development occurring
in Landscape Conservation Areas should be held to a
higher conservation standard; open space must be
preserved, natural areas must be linked, and natural
landscape features must be preserved. LCAs are relatively
large areas that contain a variety of habitats and
landscape features deserving a high level of protection.
Tax incentives, the purchase of development rights,
outright acquisition, and regulation are tools that can
be used to conserve these areas.
- Areas designated as Important Bird Areas
(IBAs) and Important Mammal Areas (IMAs) by the
Pennsylvania Biological Survey should receive a higher
level of conservation priority. IBAs in Blair County are,
from east to west, the Tussey Mountain IBA, the
Frankstown Branch of the Juniata River IBA, the
Canoe Creek Watershed IBA, and the Bald Eagle
Ridge IBA. The only IMA in Blair County is the
Canoe Creek Watershed IMA. Specific IBA
descriptions are on the Audubon Pennsylvania Web site
(http://pa.audubon.org/ibamain.htm).
Specific IMA descriptions are available from the Pennsylvania
Wildlife Federation.
- Watersheds for the supply of drinking water for
the Altoona City Authority (ACA), Hollidaysburg, and
Tyrone should be protected from development. Clean
water is becoming a very valuable commodity. Once a
watershed is damaged by development, it is very difficult
and costly to correct the damage. New York City was faced
with the need to improve its drinking water quality and
found that it was far less expensive to purchase land and
conservation easements on land in the watersheds of its
reservoirs than to upgrade its treatment plants. The
Altoona City Authority should purchase as much land as
possible in the watersheds of its reservoirs. Other tools
for protecting ACA watershed lands include the purchase
of development rights, tax incentives, and
regulation.
- Tools for achieving the desired level of protection
for the above-mentioned areas include tax incentives,
purchase of development rights (conservation easements),
outright acquisition, and regulation. The Forest
Legacy program administered by the Pennsylvania
Department of Conservation and Natural Resources provides
funds for the purchase of developments rights on forested
lands. This program is similar to the very successful
agricultural conservation easement program. Conservation
easements also may be held by entities such as the
Southern
Alleghenies Conservancy and the Western Pennsylvania
Conservancy.
- Development should be confined to designated areas
in the narrow I-99 corridor. Areas that should be
protected from development, even within the narrow I-99
corridor, include wetlands, floodplains, steep slopes
(>20% grade), Biological Diversity Areas designated by
the Blair County Natural Heritage Inventory, Important
Bird Areas and Important Mammal Areas designated by the
Pennsylvania Biological Survey.
Examples of inappropriate land uses include the Logan Town Centre shopping complex (steep slope, wetlands, Important Bird Area), the Keystone Opportunity Zone on Brush Mountain at Frankstown Road (17th Street Business and Technology Park) (steep slope, Important Bird Area), and the Keystone Opportunity Zone on Brush Mountain at Pinecroft (steep slope, Important Bird Area).
-
Environmental Advisory Councils should be formed in
all municipalities. An Environmental Advisory
Council is a group of three to seven community
residents, appointed by local elected officials, who
advises the local planning commission, park and
recreation board, and elected officials on the
protection, conservation, management, promotion, and
use of natural resources within its territorial limits.
Municipalities are authorized to establish EACs through
Pennsylvania Act 177 (http://www.dep.state.pa.us/dep/local_gov/EACHandbook/Ntbook14.htm)
of 1996, originally Act 148 of 1973. EAC members devote
time and energy to assist elected and appointed
officials in protecting the environment. They can act
on a municipal or multi- municipal level. In accordance
with Act 177, EACs are authorized to identify
environmental problems and recommend plans and programs
to protect and improve the quality of the environment;
make recommendations about the use of open land;
promote a community environmental program; keep an
index of all open space areas to determine the proper
use of such areas; review plans, conduct site visits,
and prepare reports for municipal officials; and advise
local government agencies about the acquisition of
property.
While municipal officials have a high demand for their time and attention, EAC members can devote their full attention to environmental protection. EACs help municipal officials to make environmentally sound decisions.
- EACs serve as liaisons to represent both the
community and decision makers.
- EACs are a focal point for funding and raise
money for projects.
- EACs engage residents, community volunteers, and
the private sector in natural resource
protection.
- EACs work on a multi-municipal level to reflect
natural rather than artificial municipal
boundaries.
- EACs serve as liaisons to represent both the
community and decision makers.
- The Blair County Comprehensive Plan should recognize explicitly the value of nature’s services. Nature’s services, or ecosystem services, which are provided to our communities free of charge by natural landscape features, include air purification, water purification, carbon sequestration to curb global warming, areas for family-friendly, low cost outdoor recreation, the provision of water for our wells and reservoirs, flood control, slow release of water during times of drought, wildlife habitat, the maintenance of biodiversity, and areas for hunting and fishing. The development of natural areas results in a lessening of nature’s ability to provide these services.
During the public meetings regarding the revision of the Blair County Comprehensive Plan the citizens of Blair County voiced a clear call for the conservation and preservation of the natural attributes that make Blair County unique. Residents respect a sense of place that rapidly is being destroyed by unchecked and disorderly development. By implementing the suggestions enumerated above, Blair County will maintain a high quality of life that will be attractive to its youth and to emerging high-paying, high-tech businesses.
___________________
Board members, Juniata Valley Audubon:
Cindy Moore, President
Dave Bonta, Vice-President and Programs Chair
Shirley Wagoner, Secretary
Warren Baker, Treasurer
Sarah Miller, Conservation Chair
Jody Wallace, Education Chair
Helena Kotala, Publications and Publicity Chair
Charlie Hoyer, Membership Chair
Maxine Leckvarcik, Hospitality Chair
Terry Wentz, Historian
Dave Kyler, IBA Coordinator and Field Trips Chair
Stan Kotala, M.D., IBA Coordinator
Heidi Boyle, Christmas Bird Count Coordinator
Environmental education consultant:
Roy A. Boyle