Newsletter-Fall '11FINALFINAL-REALLY - Tinicum Conservancy

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GREEN ACRES After the Ink Dries (cont. from pg. 1) COULD YOU SPARE... protected now and in the future. “In perpetuity” means forever. As soon as the easement is completed, all of the TC staff and volunteers who have worked on the project send their documents to a central location in the office. The Executive Director, the Resource Protection Manager and the project contact person are the “usual suspects” who have easement-related documents that need to be retained in two locations: the Permanent File and the Working File. Each file is stored in a different location to ensure that if one file is destroyed by natural disaster or some other mishap, there is still a complete file of documents in a safe place. The Permanent File is the offi- • Electric broom or small vacuum • Shade-loving plants for outdoor landscaping (natives preferred!) • Picture Rail moulding for upstairs offices (call for details) • Large frame at least 24" x 34" or larger for Tinicum Preserved Lands Map (to be hung in entry hall) • Cordless drill with charger, driver & drill bits; flat and Phillips-head screwdrivers; hammer • Large tools for the Lending Tool Shed • Books, natural resource themed for our lending library Please call the Conservancy office if you can help us cross any of these items off our wish list. cial documentation of the conservation project and as required by our National Accreditation status, all the Permanent Files are stored in fire/flood proof safes at an “undisclosed location” in the township, not at the office. All the Working Files are in the TC office, where the staff and volunteers can access them for the ongoing work of stewardship. These files contain all the correspondence between all parties, the Baseline Report (which includes maps, photos, geographic, geologic and ecological information), the title search, survey and appraisal documents, and any information regarding co-holders (who could be Tinicum Township and/ or Bucks County). All of the information, which may include as many as 20 documents, are placed in the Permanent File binder and copied for the duplicate Working File. And all that is before the stewardship work in perpetuity has even begun! We are amassing a lot of binders! TC now holds or supervises 97 easements. A very important part of the stewardship for all conserved properties is the annual monitoring, which is required by the IRS. Our Resource Protection Manager, Kelly Germann, trains and supervises all the volunteer monitors. Every year, each conservation easement is visited by a TC monitor to identify and document any changes that may impact the conservation values described in the conservation easement and to file a report on the condition of the property. These reports also become part of the Permanent and Working files. The monitoring visit is also a great way to keep in touch with our easement landowners and answer any questions they may have. Besides the internal work to sustain this ongoing record-keeping and monitoring process, an equally important aspect of the “post-easement” work is landowner outreach. The Conservancy encourages donor landowners to be good land stewards, and now offers in-person and online resource management support. When “second generation” owners purchase a conserved property, TC offers to meet with new owners, helping them understand everything about their easement and about TC, and inviting them to become active participants in the organization that is responsible for the perpetual conservation of their land. When the ink dries, everyone celebrates. Then we get to work on the perpetuity part. - Article by Peggy Enoch and Jim Engel/Photos © Kathleen Connally (www.durhamtownship.com) Page 4 WWW.TI�ICUMCO�SERVA�CY.ORG Fall 2011
THE CRITTER CORNER Black bears are common in Pennsylvania – and are the most common bear in North America – but they are usually found in mountainous, wooded areas in the north-central and northeastern areas of the state. Yet this year, people have reported seeing black bears much closer to home. Wildlife experts acknowledge that the bears have expanded into this region, where they feed not only on nuts, berries and insects of the forest but also on residential garbage, birdfeeders and pet food left outdoors. Although black bears have poor eyesight, their sense of smell is excellent – 40 times keener than a human nose. Black bears rarely attack without provocation, but they should be treated with respect. A male black bear can weigh 350 to 500 pounds; the female is smaller, from 150 to 250 pounds. They are most active at night, but it’s not unusual to see black bears during the day – just ask residents in Richland and Lower Saucon Township who saw a black bear this summer. At this time of year, black bears are getting ready to bed down for the winter. They are packing on the pounds to beat the first snowfall, when their natural food sources are buried. They aren’t true hibernators, though; instead, they conserve energy by going into a period of dormancy. They can still awaken during winter to forage for food. Their mating season is June, but black bears don’t give birth until late January or early February. The bear embryos, fertilized in early summer, may exist in limbo – without being implanted – for up to half a year, long enough to ensure that the mother bear has laid down enough stores of fat to not only carry her through the winter, but to also provide milk for her cubs. This delayed implantation is unique to about 100 mammals, including bears. Females typically have two cubs a year. If a black bear shows up in your neighborhood, how can you discourage it from hanging around? Although an Alaska woman recently made the news because she punched a black bear in the snout, to force it to let go of her dog, that’s not the approach wildlife experts recommend. Instead, they urge you to remove birdfeeders and not keep your pet’s food bowl outside. Make sure garbage cans are securely closed. And never put food out for a bear. Bears will associate food with humans and may lose their natural fear of people. Although the state Game Commission can trap and relocate a bear that has become a nuisance, the animal may simply find its way back to the area – even when released more than 100 miles away. - Article by Dianna Sinovic/Photos from PA Game Commission Five Things You Should Know About the Tinicum Conservancy • We are a non-profit, community-based organization made up of Tinicum residents from all walks of life. We work with conservation-minded landowners to protect Tinicum’s rural character, farms and natural resources. • Although Tinicum is a small township (19,700 acres), we rank near the top of Pennsylvania’s land trusts in number of easements (97) and amount of protected land (almost 4,000 acres). • In 2009, we became one of only 5% of all land trusts in the United States to receive accreditation from The Land Trust Accreditation Commission. This means that our professional standards including fiscal, fundraising, stewardship, easement acquisition and overall non-profit management meet or exceed rigorous national requirements. • Our efforts to safeguard Tinicum only begin with securing conservation easements. Much of our future work will focus on oversight of existing easements and working closely with landowners and the community to provide natural resource stewardship. We consider this work an excellent, longterm insurance policy on the investment in conservation we have all made through conservation easements. • Our operations are supported solely by our more than 500 members, who contribute to our mission through donations of their time, talent and dollars. If you haven’t already joined, please get involved today. Fall 2011 WWW.TI�ICUMCO�SERVA�CY.ORG Page 5
Page 1 and 2: FALL 2011 GREEN ACRES After the Ink
Page 3: - SHOUT OUT Volunteer help is essen
Page 7 and 8: HE FUTURE - OUR LAND S (April - Aug
Page 9 and 10: BRLC HOSTS REGIONAL OPEN SPACE ROUN
Page 11 and 12: CONSERVATION SPOTLIGHT THE GIVING P

Newsletter-Fall '11FINALFINAL-REALLY - Tinicum Conservancy

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