The W.C presentation at the City Council Meeting

Last night, Dr. Abigal Pattishall presented the Wildlands Conservancy plans for our park system. The gist of her presentation focused on “No-Mow” zones and Riparian Buffer installation. Using a powerpoint presentation, she let city council know what the plans were and why they are performing these actions. The three main bullet points she offered were that these environmental developments will increase water quality, create new wildlife habitat and provide a genuine nature experience in our park system.

She revealed that 1/3 of our water bodies fall below Pennsylvania water quality standards. The buffers will act to stabilize stream banks, provide major pollutant filtering and lower the water temperature which will decrease algal blooms and help restore aquatic wildlife habitat. These three points will help our water systems meet the quality standards that they are currently far from.

The plans for “No-Mow” are simple and cost effective. The goal is to have at least 25 feet of “no-mow” extending from the banks of every creek in our park system. These areas will be cut twice a year and various access points will be created so people can still access the creeks themselves.

Some questions were raised by council members regarding an increased presence of snakes and mosquitoes but Dr. Pattishall reminded the council that there are no poisonous snakes living in our park system and these natural areas will not increase mosquito population.

I support these efforts fully and have documented on this blog the positive effects the limited Riparian work in our parks already.

How do you feel about these plans? What are your questions?