V \N { ' # — | A Case for “conservation fg, TIE fA ~, Alene N. Case +. In Pennsylvania we have one of those rare opportunities to actu- ally promote environmental stew- ardship when we file our personal income tax returns. To quote from my 1996 instruction book- let: “You have a chance to ‘Do Something Wild’ and help protect Pennsylvania's non-game wildlife . and native wild plants by making a contribution of your state re- fund on line 19c¢ of your PA-40 or 12c of your PA-40EZ. This special nonprofit fund [the Wild Resource Conservation Fund] is designed to help the state’s resource agen- cies protect and restore these unique state treasures....” Yes, in 1982 the Pennsylvania legisla- ture passed the Wild Resource Conservation Act which set up a fund to help our various state agencies focus on their “unfunded mandates” - that is those parts of their jurisdictions that had been ignored because they did not di- rectly pertain to game animals, forestry, etc. The beauty of this fund (hereaf- ter referred to as WRCF) is that all of [its money comes voluntarily from the citizens of the state. In addition to the check off box on - the tax forms, money is also gen- erated through sales of “Conserve Wild Resources” license plates and through direct contributions or the sale of various memorabilia such as hats or T-shirts. Last year almost one million dollars was funneled through WRCF into a wide variety of projects designed to help us un- One good thing about tax time in Pennsylvania derstand and conserve our “unique state treasures.” Approxi- mately 50 projects are funded each year. Some are large and have immediate results such as the publication in 1995 of the book Endangered and Threatened Spe- cies of Pennsylvania. Others are small and results will not be no- ticed for many years such as sev- eral curricula being developed and circulated to teachers through- out the commonwealth. Most are scientific in nature. There are studies of bats, birds, small mam- mals, and insects. There are sur- veys of plants, reptiles and am- phibians, and forest community types. Some projects are designed to study the current status of the animal and plant populations within the state. For instance, we know that 3400 different plants occur in Pennsylvania. But, we know very little about the habitat requirements of most of the non- tree species. There is an effort underway now with WRCF fund- ing simply to map the occurrence of these species and to study the historical collections to see what changes might have taken place over the past century. Also, the last thorough census of freshwa- ter mussels ( a type of bivalve similar to a clam) was completed in the first decade of the twentieth century. Arnold Ortmann of the Carnegie Museum found 65 dif- ferent species. The recent survey which is almost complete indi- cates that 22 of those species have disappeared from the state in that short length of time. Other projects are efforts to restore or protect species that are endangered. One of the most popular of these restoration projects is the reintroduction of the river otter. It is interesting that this reintroduction was only possible because the water qual- ity in our streams and rivers has improved so much during the past two or three decades. The Allegh- eny River in southern Venango County was the site of the latest release of animals procured from New York state. At one point the only viable population of otters in our state was in the Poconos. Now, through the efforts of Uni- versity students and private indi- viduals with some WRCF fund- ing, the river otter is again breed- ing in several watersheds through- out the state. It is quite possible that the next WRCEF license plate design will feature the river otter. Some restoration projects do not involve expensive reintroduc- tion campaigns. They simply pro- tect the places where the particu- lar species live. The best example of this is the effort to protect the bat populations that are so criti- cal to insect control. Special doors are constructed across old mine entrances so that the bats can fly in and out but people cannot en-. ter. Old mines are ideal habitat for bats, especially when they hi- "bernate in the wintertime, because they are able to maintain very low body temperatures with no dis- turbance by humans. Isn’t it odd that sometimes our most destruc- tive activities give rise to unique conservation opportunities? So, if you want to get person- ally involved in the protection of our state’s biological resources - to promote the conservation of mushrooms, mayflies, orchids, flying squirrels, and owls - just check that box on your PA income tax return. And, if someone will explain to me how one manages to overpay one’s state income tax so that you are due a refund, I will be glad to join you! WYOMING LEADING YOUR If you missed The Post - you missed the news! Chorus (continued from page 1) some may have a tutorial sched- uled for one day, and maybe noth- ing the next.” : Griffiths is quick to point out that the format does have some bugs to be ironed out. “It does need some fine tuning,” he said. The administration is currently compiling an interim report which touches on the subject, to be reviewed on March 3. “It's too early to make certain judgements, because we'll have a better grasp on the situation later in the year,” said Griffiths. Business association will meet Feb. 13 Margaret Burgerhoff, who helped organize the successful Luzerne Merchants' Association, will be the featured speaker at the Feb. 13 meeting of the Back Moun- tain Business and Professional Association. Members will also discuss the upcoming Easter egg hunt, and the new Economic De- velopment Committee will make a first report. The meeting will be- gin at 11:45 a.m. in Merrick Hall on the campus of College Miseri- cordia. Visitors are welcome. What do you seek? 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