Lancaster County Conservancy

Program 2 land stewardshipaccess & restorationfrom opening new trails including our third universal access trail to our first installation of standardized wayfinding signage, lancaster conservancy continues to focus on providing opportunities for our community to access nature safely and responsibly. As we strive to facilitate that access, we also work to care for our woods and wetlands, meadows and streams through ecological restoration projects.improved access at clark nature preservethe conservancy completed the installation of the new universally accessible lloyd clark trail at clark nature preserve. This trail will provide opportunities for community members with mobility concerns and those using wheelchairs, walkers, strollers, or other mobility devices to explore the meadow and woods. The lloyd clark trail is named in memory of the clark associates' founder, lloyd clark, and in recognition of the clark associates charitable foundation's historic investments in the conservancy's land protection and stewardship work through the protect & restore campaign.additionally, the conestoga trail through the preserve was rerouted from the preserve's steepest slopes challenged by erosion to explore further into the reed run watershed, passing through a 15-year-old reforestation area. The conservancy installed standardized wayfinding signage around the preserve to help visitors safely navigate this scenic destination.partners & funders: pa recreational trails program, federal highway administration, pennsylvania dcnr bureau of recreation and conservation, national park service, clark associates charitable foundation, mjheller llc, c.s. Davidson, inc., kinsley construction, penn trails, keystone trails association, lancaster hiking club new trails in york countythe conservancy opened nearly 14 miles of additional trails at wizard ranch and robert a. Kinsley nature preserves in york county. The new trails at wizard ranch traverse forest, meadow, and riparian habitats, including the site of the conservancy's first-ever prescribed burn where black locust and pawpaw are now reemerging. The trail system at robert a. Kinsley nature preserve is built around the mason-dixon trail as it climbs across the landscape from the banks of the susquehanna river, up the dugan run gorge, wrapping through a coniferous forest on its way to the improved buzzards roost overlook before descending down to the wildcat bluff overlook, and following wildcat run out of the preserve and into susquehanna riverlands state park. Hundreds of acres opened to huntingin total, the conservancy allows public hunting access in pursuit of regulated game species on more than 6,000 acres at 34 nature preserves, all supported by enrollment in the pennsylvania game commission's public hunting access cooperator program. In 2024, we enrolled three additional york county preserves and four additional lancaster county preserves into this program nearly 700 acres opened to public hunting access.hunting plays a role in the management of local wildlife populations, which can otherwise grow to unhealthy levels due to the modern absence of important predator species and an abundance of agricultural food sources, among other factors. Large populations of browsing animals such as white-tailed deer can be devastating to the regeneration of native hardwood species within a forest.ecological restoration in actionclark nature preserve: volunteers are removing invasive shrubs, mostly bush honeysuckle, from the forest surrounding the meadow at clark nature preserve. These areas between ecosystems are called ecotones and should be rich in biodiversity. The removal of invasive plants fosters that biodiversity.climbers run nature center: the shrub layer at climbers run nature center is dominated by multiflora rose, which is limiting native shrub and wildflower growth. Volunteers are removing invasive shrubs from a 10-acre parcel of the preserve, the first step in a comprehensive ecological restoration process.conoy wetlands nature preserve: in the spring of 2024, all lancaster conservancy staff gathered for a tree planting event at falmouth forest garden at conoy wetlands nature preserve. Work began on the forest garden in 2018, and with the april 2024 plantings, the final phase of the planting plan was executed. Species such as black chokeberry and allegheny serviceberry, once common in the floodplain forests of lancaster county but now rarely found in wild populations, were intentionally planted to return these species to conoy wetlands nature preserve.donegal highlands nature preserve: in 2024, the conservancy implemented a prescribed thinning at donegal highlands, which assists the ecological succession process how the species in an ecosystem change over time and promotes the growth of hickory and oak seedlings. The aim of this restoration practice is to increase species diversity and climate resiliency in the future woodlands at this site.kellys run nature preserve: in 2024, lancaster conservancy used a no-till drill seeder to establish three distinct pollinator meadows encompassing over 10 acres at kellys run. The seeding is the culmination of planning and restoration work that began in 2020. The seed mixes planted at this preserve will provide habitat for a wide range of native pollinators including american bumblebees, monarch butterflies, columbine duskywings, and regal fritillaries. This project was designed in collaboration with natural resources conservation service and pheasants forever.wizard ranch nature preserve: the conservancy began planting and vegetation management at the site of the first prescribed burn in the organization's history, which was implemented at wizard ranch in 2023. We began site preparation work for a warm season grass meadow that will be seeded in april 2025. We also continued to manage the riparian buffer that was installed in 2023 with funding from the pennsylvania dcnr. The habitat work we are doing at wizard ranch is the organization's largest and most comprehensive ecological restoration project to date. 2024 volunteer impact- 75 volunteer events- 800+ volunteers donated 1,500+ hours- 6,000 gallons of invasive garlic mustard pulled- 1,100 cubic yards of invasive shrubs removed

Program 3 community impactconnecting community & naturelancaster conservancy strives to facilitate opportunities for our community to connect with nature through annual events like lancaster water week, school programs that get students outside, and year-round educational programming for learners of all ages. When people have the opportunity to fall in love with nature, we believe they will take action to protect it.lancaster water weekthe eighth annual lancaster water week included over 60 events hosted by dozens of community partners and attended by more than 3,000 people. These events included a first friday celebration and public art installation in downtown lancaster, wetland tours at long's park, paddles on the conestoga and susquehanna rivers, trivia, live music, creek stomps, educational hikes and bike trips, tours of restoration and rewilding efforts, volunteer cleanups, and more. With our partners, we gave away 1,500 free native trees and shrubs and came together to clean up more than 7,300 pounds of trash, preventing this refuse from entering our local stream and rivers, as we celebrated rewilding for clean water.trail festthe conservancy launched a new annual event trail fest in september 2024. Trail fest celebrates the trails that get us outdoors and the many ways we connect with nature. Over 500 people attended this inaugural event, which included a performance by bluegrass band colebrook road, educational trailside talks, an interactive happy hiker village, and self-guided hikes. The event was topped off with good food and beer from a local food truck and brewery as well as fire pits to make s'mores.engaging the next generationschool programsin 2024, the conservancy hosted 25 school programs that brought 1,400 students out to our nature preserves from school districts including school district of lancaster, penn manor, conestoga valley, donegal, and york city. Lancaster conservancy's k-12 school program focuses on teaching skills and sharing knowledge to prepare the future stewards of the lands and waters we protect today. These conservation education programs offer hands-on learning opportunities like stream studies and meadow explorations that help students connect with nature.summer stewardship crewthe lancaster conservancy summer stewardship crew is a green-collar job initiative that enables crew members to get hands-on experience training with our stewardship experts while providing some much-needed labor to support our preserves. Two members of the 2024 summer stewardship crew were part of the group for a third season, giving them more responsibility, skill building, resume development, and leadership opportunities. The young adults on the 2024 crew worked on habitat improvement and public access projects as well as preserve maintenance. They constructed new hiking trails at wizard ranch and clark nature preserves, battled invasive plants, cared for native trees, and helped maintain existing trails.thank you to the donors who provided funding to make the summer stewardship crew possible for 2023 and 2024 in honor of the conservancy's former president & ceo phil wenger.internshiphigh-school student caleigh fitzsimmons interned with the conservancy's engagement team during the fall. She joined conservancy staff and volunteers at events, including trail fest, and helped provide conservation and leave no trace education to community members.scout projectsa number of scouts achieved the rank of eagle scout by performing invasive plant removal projects on conservancy preserves this past year. These projects give scouts the opportunity to plan, lead, and execute a complex project while contributing directly to the conservancy's ecological restoration work.community wildlife habitateveryone can play a role in supporting wildlife habitat in their community, their backyard, or even a flowerpot. Fifteen more people completed their habitat advocate certification in 2024 after participating in a series of classes, led by the conservancy and waxwing ecoworks co., to learn how to create and care for native wildlife habitat. Additionally, we trained professional landscapers about the importance of native landscaping techniques and how incorporating native plants in landscaping encourages increased biodiversity. Partners & funders: lancaster county community foundation, lancaster clean water partnerssusquehanna riverlands conservation landscape mini-grantslancaster conservancy and the pennsylvania department of conservation and natural resources work together to provide mini-grants for projects that benefit the susquehanna riverlands conservation landscape. Projects selected for grants in 2024 include accessibility improvements to a conoy township park, an outdoor recreation strategic plan for lancaster county, planning for composting toilets and accessible restrooms at the horn farm center, and a susquehanna riverlands bird summit. Leave no tracevolunteers spend time at some of the conservancy's most popular nature preserves over the summer to provide safe hiking tips and leave no trace education, ensuring that visitors experience nature responsibly. They contacted 3,000 preserve visitors with this messaging in 2024. Lancaster conservancy's efforts to provide leave no trace education to the community are made possible thanks to the generous support of the lancaster county solid waste management authority.