Audubon secures $1.2M grant to help preserve Buffalo Creek watershed

The Audubon Society of Western Pennsylvania has received a $1.2 million federal grant to help preserve the Buffalo Creek watershed, one of the wildest, untouched natural areas in the Pittsburgh region.

Audubon and other environmental organizations will provide a range of services, including planting chestnut trees, helping landowners preserve environmental quality and studying water quality and trying to improve it. An Audubon report released last year said there was a 10% decline in water quality in the watershed over the past decade.

The watershed extends from Freeport to Butler, encompassing 170 square miles in Butler, Armstrong and Allegheny counties. It is home to a variety of plants and wildlife including the Eastern hellbender and state-endangered massasauga rattlesnake.

“This is not a big grant to buy 1,000 acres, but a grant to keep land in private hands and manage it better,” said Jim Bonner, executive director of the Audubon Society of Western Pennsylvania.

The grant leverages another $1.2 million in matching funds for a total of $2.4 million to conduct conservation and outreach work over the next five years.

The Buffalo Creek watershed is a popular outdoor destination that includes the Butler-Freeport Community Trail, Audubon’s Todd Nature Reserve in Buffalo Township and some waterways offering high quality fisheries.

“In surveys, residents have told us what they want and they value the natural diversity there and want to keep the green space and we want to help them do that,” Bonner said.

Since 98% of the land in the watershed is privately owned, a good portion of the grant money will provide free consulting to landowners for timbering, farming and general land use along with planting of native trees and shrubs and continuing environmental studies.

“Conservation District representatives will sit down with residents and farmers to deal with soil erosion and help them with a plan to manage their properties,” said Jim Bonner, executive director of the Audubon Society of Western Pennsylvania.

“Most people who have forested land want to timber but they don’t want to clear cut, they want to do it gradually and make money indefinitely,” said Bonner. “We can help them manage a plan on how to do that to support wildlife and provide income for them in the future.”

To learn more, contact the Audubon Society and its Buffalo Creek Watershed Coalition by visiting Audubon’s website or calling Audubon at 412-963-6100.