The Western Pennsylvania Conservancy

Small! ✔️ Secretive! ✔️ Speedy! ✔️ These traits are just some of the reasons weasels have been the least studied mammals in Pennsylvania for seven decades. But our Pennsylvania Natural Heritage Program scientists are changing that! Read an article in our winter Conserve magazine about our work with the Pennsylvania Game Commission to study these elusive animals, which are important to Pennsylvania's ecosystems, for potential inclusion in the State Wildlife Action Plan. Read the article here ➡️ https://bit.ly/4fnaljd Photo is a long-tailed weasel, courtesy Jacob McGinnis, iNaturalist.

Kids love to learn by seeing and doing. This handy guide from Penn State Extension for parents and educators provides resources and visuals to help students discover and learn about watersheds! 💧 https://bit.ly/4fWe0oJ 💧 #homeschool #watershed #WatershedEducation #educators

“The American holly (Ilex opaca) is the tree you likely think of when you picture holly leaves and ‘berries’ used on holiday cards and wintertime decorations,” says Emily Sachs, horticulturist at Fallingwater. “The American holly can be spotted around the Fallingwater site.” This native evergreen provides shelter to wildlife, and although the “drupes,” or fruit, are toxic to humans, some birds species eat them. Emily explains the trees are dioecious, meaning that male and female flowers appear on different individual trees. In order for the trees to set fruit, both male and female plants must be present. Look for American holly if you visit Fallingwater for a Winter Walk, January 2 through March 14, except Wednesdays: https://bit.ly/3kKmoxx. #holly #hollyBerries #holidays #nativeTrees

Wishing everyone a safe and wonderful holiday season! #MerryChristmas #HappyHolidays #WaterLandLife

ICYMI, the WPC December eNewsletter is online. Learn about new native gardens we recently planted, apply to be a WPC Emerging Leader, get your 2025 Fallingwater calendar at 25% off and more: bit.ly/2pNxyW0. Feel free to share to inspire others to join us in conserving and protecting water, land and wildlife. Sign up for our email list➡️ bit.ly/2zHN76D or share with someone who cares about nature 💚!

Here's a warm and cozy post for the first day of winter! A cozy, crackling roaring fire is the perfect complement to any holiday gathering or to cozying up on the couch with a hot cuppa something. No fireplace? No problem! Enjoy the ambiance and beauty of the Fallingwater hearth in your home via our virtual yule log. Download this video and enjoy the virtual warmth: https://bit.ly/4iAfszx #YuleLog #VirtuallyThere #Fallingwater

Happy winter! The winter solstice occurs today -- it arrived at 4:21 a.m, ET. The sun travels its shortest path through the sky, so we have the least daylight and the most darkness. From today until the summer solstice in June, we get more sunlight each day! Celebrate the solstice by downloading a free virtual background image of winter scenes of our preserves or our work: https://bit.ly/3e9UYNd #winterSolstice #Winter #WaterLandLife #VirtualBackground #VirtuallyThere #FreeBackground

WPC Vice President of Community and Government Relations Cynthia Carrow (who is retiring December 31 after 51 years with the Conservancy!....Thank you, Cynthia!) vividly recalls canoeing on the black polluted water of the Clarion River in the late 1970s. The Conservancy mapped out a conservation strategy for a 40-mile stretch of the river from Ridgway in Elk County to the Piney Dam in Clarion County. "With nearly 33,000 acres conserved (and still counting) and with the efforts of many partners, the Conservancy has worked to restore water quality in the river," Cynthia notes. Today most of this section of the Clarion River is designated Wild and Scenic by the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System. WPC's long-term investment in the Clarion River's recovery has really paid off! Our watershed conservation, land conservation and stewardship and natural heritage teams have all contributed extensively to the health of this beautiful river. Read more about the Clarion's incredible journey in this article from exploreClarion: https://bit.ly/41oyiDw

Pop vocabulary quiz! What is the word for a place where a snake rests during winter? Scroll down for the answer and more information. A. Hibachi B. Hibiscus C. Hibernaculum D. Hibernia . . . . . December in Western Pennsylvania started off with heavy snow in some areas and near zero temperatures. It got us to thinking about animals that don't have fur or feathers to keep them warm against the elements...such as snakes! How do snakes keep warm in the winter? They nest in a hibernaculum! It could be a hole in the ground such as an abandoned well or animal’s burrow, a dead tree, a pile of rocks or a building foundation. This eastern massasauga rattlesnake is overwintering in a crayfish burrow. (The first image shows it underwater.) According to WPC's Pennsylvania Natural Heritage Program zoologist Ryan Miller, "Massasaugas use terrestrial crayfish burrows, which lead down to a chamber (about the size of a basketball) that was excavated by the crayfish." When a snake is "brumating" below ground (remember an earlier post when we explained that turtles and other reptiles brumate rather than hibernate?), the hibernaculum must remain above 32°F (0°C) so the snake does not freeze. Therefore the area needs to be below the frost line. These hibernacula are typically below the ground water table, Ryan explains. "The snakes sit in the water, typically with the crayfish, all winter until the weather warms in the spring." Ah, symbiosis! NOTE: In case you are wondering, if a snake overwintered in an outdoor hibachi (a portable grill used to make delicious traditional Japanese food) it would probably freeze. It would not likely overwinter in a hibiscus (a large, showy tropical flower often used to make tea). But it definitely could overwinter in the foundation of a hibernia (the Latin word for a tiny house in Ireland). #reptiles #herpetologists #herpetology

Did you participate in PA iMapInvasives' Jumping Worm Jamboree last summer? The statewide survey encouraged natural resource professionals and community scientists to volunteer to search for and report findings of invasive jumping worms (Amynthas-Metaphire species) in Pennsylvania. Here are the results: https://bit.ly/410uFmW #invasives