Spotted salamanders are one of many indicator species in Chautauqua County. Photo by Jan Bowman

The Chautauqua Watershed Conservancy’s mission is sharply focused on protecting areas that have the highest ecological, hydrological, and scenic value in our region, as well as improving those values in areas that have been compromised by prior land uses. Recently we developed a Geographic Information System (GIS)-based computer model that can combine and evaluate all sorts of important environmental data and then project that information onto a map to show where in our county such high-value areas are located. These maps now inform our Comprehensive Regional Conservation Implementation Strategy (CRCIS) and help our organization prioritize where to allocate our financial and staff resources to get the best “bang” for every scarce conservation buck. Our CRCIS analysis has already proven to be an extremely valuable tool as we review potential candidate properties that we are hoping to protect.

Being able to look at a map of Chautauqua County that has every acre of its surface scored on the value it has for our local flora and fauna, water quality, climate resilience, and scenic beauty provides a very powerful 10,000-foot view. It provides perspective on how different areas could be connected to form habitat and recreational corridors, it shows where important natural areas are located and how much of it is already protected, and it indicates where we should be focusing our efforts to “connect the dots” to ensure that those corridors and habitat blocks are protected in their entirety. However, when it comes to truly assessing the ecological functionality of a particular parcel, there is no better way than to put on boots or waders and get out there!

The Conservancy has an active conservation committee, consisting of staff, board members, and community members. Every time our organization considers a particular property for acquisition or mitigation, it is first reviewed by the committee based on its location and CRCIS scores, followed by a site visit. It is on those visits that the varied backgrounds and expertise of our committee members truly shine, as each one of us sees a site through their own respective experiential lens. Nature has a variety of ways in which it tells us what works – or not.

For example, the presence of certain birds in an area will provide information about the type of habitat that is available. Finding bobolinks, American kestrels, or Eastern meadowlarks somewhere indicates that a sizeable tract of functional grassland is present, whereas a site with scarlet tanagers, ovenbirds, and winter wrens will have stands of functional forest. Seeing these birds during migration (spring or fall) may indicate that the habitat is good enough to provide food, shelter, or other resources for such birds during a brief stop-over on a long migratory journey. However, seeing those same birds during the breeding season, when they rely on the same resources for weeks or months, is more meaningful, as it shows that these birds can have their critical resource needs met for a much longer time. Such a site can be ecologically more valuable. Seeing a spotted salamander under a log in the woods indicates that there is a functional vernal pool somewhere within salamander walking distance from that log. Even if the pool doesn’t hold water in late summer and is not visible as such, we would still know that it exists nearby. Specific plants, insects, mussels, or other organisms each have unique habitat requirements; finding such biological indicator species somewhere will tell the right person all kinds of things about the quality of a stream, pond, forest, or other habitat type. And for the Conservancy, it is a quick and efficient way to take our top-level ecological information from the CRCIS model and see how that applies on the ground. Sometimes, the more general information that the model is built with might look good on paper, but a site visit doesn’t reveal any unique features or the presence of biological indicator species. This can happen if imperfect management practices or previous site uses, for example, have negatively impacted the area over time.

If you are interested in our work, then you might be interested in the photo exhibit that is currently on display at the Lakewood Memorial Library. “At Home In Nature” is on view until the end of October and highlights several of these fascinating biological indicator species in photographs taken by Jan Bowman, Jeanne Wiebenga, and me. All of us are wildlife photographers as well as active members of the Conservancy’s conservation committee. On October 30th at 5pm, we will host a public program where we will talk about our work and about the respective photographic journeys we are on. We hope that you share our passion for our backyard nature, and we know that you will enjoy the exhibit. Hope to see you there!

Chautauqua Watershed Conservancy is a not-for-profit organization with the mission to preserve and enhance the quality, scenic beauty, and ecological health of the Chautauqua region’s lands and waters for our community. For more information, visit chautauquawatershed.org and follow us on Facebook and Instagram.