For decades, a 26-acre stretch of land at Safe Harbor Nature Preserve near Conestoga was just a hayfield, cut and baled multiple times a year. That repeated mowing schedule harmed ground-nesting birds and small mammals trying to raise young there. Now that same acreage has been transformed into a native grassland meadow, complete with a newly opened half-mile hiking trail that loops visitors right through the restoration.
The Lancaster Conservancy, which acquired Safe Harbor Nature Preserve in 2019, began planning the ecological restoration that same year, according to PennLive. The preserve sits within the Susquehanna Riverlands Conservation Landscape, a region designated by the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources that spans municipalities bordering the Susquehanna River in Lancaster and York counties. The new yellow-blazed trail winds through both the restored meadow and adjacent woodlands, giving hikers a close look at habitat built specifically for wildlife that has struggled to find room elsewhere in the state.
To pull off the conversion, the conservancy used a custom seed mixture of 32 native plant species grown from local ecotypes by Ernst Conservation Seeds, planted with a drill seeder loaned by the Pennsylvania Game Commission in consultation with Pheasants Forever and the Natural Resources Conservation Service, according to WeConservePA. Restoration work was funded by the Natural Resources Conservation Service through its Environmental Quality Incentives Program, per PennLive’s reporting. Seven of the 26 acres were also planted with native trees and shrubs that now offer perches for birds, nesting and roosting cover for turkeys, forage and cover for white-tailed deer, and habitat for large mammals.
Built for Five Struggling Pollinators
The restoration specifically targets five pollinator species: the monarch butterfly, American bumblebee, regal fritillary, columbine duskywing, and frosted elfin. All five are classified as Species of Greatest Conservation Need under the Pennsylvania Wildlife Action Plan and are being targeted for pre-listing conservation efforts by federal and state agencies, according to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. The strategy reflects a statewide push, since grasslands and shrublands are critically limited and declining habitats across Pennsylvania, prompting officials to prioritize converting former agricultural land before these species require formal endangered species protections…