Jacobsburg Environmental Education Center (6-July-2016)

I haven't been out the past couple days because of the amount of people on the river and in the local parks due to the extended holiday weekend. I have also been preparing for the Northampton County Junior Conservation School. NCJCS for me started tonight with prep work with other volunteers at the location it is held. It is near Jacobsburg Environmental Education Center so I left early enough to go do a small clean-up before going to help with set-up for the camp. It has been some time since I have hiked the trails at Jacobsburg and I really did not know what to expect. 

Walking into Henry's Woods, was pretty much the same, with the exception of some large trees. Years ago this small portion of forest called Henry's Woods was defined by a small patch of old growth Eastern Hemlocks. Now very few of the giants still stand here. The Eastern Hemlock is our state tree and is currently facing the problem of an alien invader. The non-native Hemlock Wooly Adelgid has been attacking our Hemlocks for many years. In some places the infestations have caused die offs of Hemlocks and the Adelgids have proved hard to get rid of. In the case of the old growths at Jacobsburg, I believe most fell due to storms baring heavy winds on the tall trees and not due to the Adelgid, although these trees too were infested. 

This was next to the stream side in an area that gets a lot of use by families. I wonder how many parents saw this, walked their children around it and felt it acceptable to just leave there. I wonder a lot about how people see litter and do nothing about it. I see a lot of evidence of people not caring about others or the environment. It does get tiring. 

The first, but not the last bag of dog feces I found discarded along the trail. I have a dog, I pick up her waste and I dispose of it properly. It is not hard and there is no excuse for someone throwing it off of the trailside. If you have a dog, it and what it makes is your responsibility. Please if you ever see someone throwing bags like this off the trail, ask them kindly to pick it up. I do not enjoy picking up others dog waste. 

This is what I was hoping not to see. Since my last visit more trails have popped up that lead down to the stream. It doesn't take much to ruin an area. The photo on the left is one of the new trails and the photo on the right is what that area would look similar to had someone not made a trail. These trails do have an impact on the stream. During rain events, more sediments end up in the streams and the banks generally start to have erosion issues. Also, the removal of plants that hang over the stream can end up raising the temperature of the water, which can be detrimental for both fish and macroinvertebrates. This can be prevented if people stick to the trails.

One of a few streams in Eastern PA called the Bushkill Creek. Another with the same name is just a county away. 

This was another thing that was disappointing to me. I could hear it and I found evidence that it went through, but I never did see it. Someone was driving an ATV through the park. I would like everyone to know that if you are caught on DCNR hiking trails with an ATV, your vehicle will be confiscated. I have seen a DCNR Ranger take a dirt bike before, so it does happen. 

The first pile was from the Henry's Woods Trail and the other was just from a short walk by the stream across from the main office. I didn't take many photos from the second walk. I really did not collect that much, but as always there shouldn't even be this much in our parks.

I noticed several of these on this excursion. This is a female Gypsy Moth in the process of laying eggs. The orange coming from underneath the moth is the egg casing. Gypsy Moths are non-native and in their larval stage can completely defoliate trees, both deciduous and coniferous. The impact of the larval stage can lead to large tree die offs. Populations of this species are controlled by spraying efforts to try to prevent large scale die offs of forested areas. 

The only reptile of the walk. This Northern Watersnake look content sitting in the current. As I have stated many times in this blog, Northern Watersnakes are not venomous and are a beneficial part to our aquatic ecosystems. Please don't kill snakes, just give them distance and respect when you encounter one in the wild. 

This will most likely be my last post until the end of NCJCS on the 16th. I will be back with lots of photos and several posts from the week of camp and our trash collecting adventure on the Delaware!

You too can help with taking out the trash! If you get out hiking take a grocery bag with you, give it a second use and fill it with trash while you are out! Every bit helps. You can also help contributing to this project here: Help Fund Taking Out the Trash

Like this project? Like it on Facebook: Taking Out the Trash in Eastern PA