Watershed Conservation Plan - Destination Erie

5. In order to sustain maximum biodiversity in the watershed, it is important to protect and
increase uninterrupted forested habitat while also encouraging the development of early
successional habitat, especially in areas such as Game Land 314 where open agricultural lands
have been abandoned.
6. Natural resource managers should assess the effects of ongoing climate change on aquatic
habitats of the watershed, as a first step toward planning to minimize resource losses. Efforts
to maintain high amounts of forest cover in the watershed and shading of streams by riparian
vegetation may help reduce the effects of climate warming on stream fisheries on a local scale
(Johnson et al. 2003a). The Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission should assess the longterm
fate and direction of trout stocking programs in the Pennsylvania Lake Erie watershed.
Since lower water levels (in the lake, streams, etc.) and higher temperatures will likely
accelerate the accumulation of mercury and other contaminants in aquatic food chains (Kling
and Wuebbles 2003), a high priority should be placed on reducing mercury-loading in the
watershed.
7. Climate models indicate that small streams (especially headwaters) and wetlands will likely
be profoundly changed by changing patterns of precipitation and increased evaporation rates
during the summer, especially in areas where groundwater contributes little to stream flow
(Johnson et al. 2003a,b). Many streams may become intermittent in areas where
runoff/surface water is the main source of flow (Johnson et al. 2003a), and water quality
(including nutrient cycling capacity) will decline due to stagnant conditions. Ponds and
ephemeral (seasonal) wetlands will likely dry up earlier in the season, and large wetlands will
contract during longer and more severe droughts, resulting in loss of refugia and breeding
habitats of many amphibians and reptiles (Johnson et al. 2003b). These predictions suggest
that high priority should be given to protecting existing groundwater supplies and wetlands,
in addition to headwater streams and their associated forests (to provide shade and cover).
8. Considering the critical role of forests and riparian vegetation for protecting our cold water
fisheries in the face of climate change, protecting forested wetlands of all types should be
given the highest priority in future land protection efforts in the Pennsylvania Lake Erie
watershed.
9. Because emergent wetlands in the watershed contain a rich diversity of PHNP-listed special
concern plant species, sites containing emergent wetlands should be assigned a high
protection/conservation priority (i.e., critical importance) equal to sites having forested
wetlands.
10. The channel marsh habitats of the Pennsylvania Lake Erie watershed need to be inventoried,
to evaluate their importance as habitats for aquatic animal life and assess the need to manage
invasive plant species that threaten these habitats. Locations in stream valleys where invasive
plants threaten wetland habitats containing plant species of concern should be mapped
concurrently with faunal surveys, and the resulting survey data should then be used to develop
a comprehensive landscape-scale plan to protect and restore these critical habitats.
11. The conservation of upland forests in the watershed is important. Large, uninterrupted
forested tracts which contain significant stands of evergreen (coniferous) and mixed
(evergreen and deciduous) forest adjacent to wetlands and streams should be given the highest
protection priority (among upland habitats), since these forests provide habitat for wildlife,
protect water quality by preventing erosion and soil loss in steeply sloping areas, and help
minimize the adverse effects of climate change on groundwater supplies and streams. The
largest continuous tract (ca. 15–20 mi 2 ) of mainly deciduous forest in the Pennsylvania Lake
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