Conservation Science

At the very tip of Presque Isle State Park sits an area known as Gull Point. The federally endangered piping plover commonly nested here until the mid-1960s. These small shorebirds rely on open, sandy habitat to properly camouflage their nests from predators. Over several decades, growth of woody and invasive species rendered the plover’s traditional nesting grounds undesirable. The Great Lakes portion of the plover’s population is the smallest of the three main populations in the U.S. with fewer than 100 breeding pairs. We hope the restoration of Gull Point habitat will make a significant contribution to the recovery of the species.

Since 2012, LEW-CWMA partners have worked on the restoration of critical habitat at Gull Point for the piping plover. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, PA Bureau of State Parks (BOSP), PA Game Commission, the Pennsylvania Audubon Society and WPC worked together to restore open habitat. After initial treatments that involved clearing of vegetation and application of herbicide, WPC and BOSP continued to inspect and treat areas.

In 2016, male plovers were sighted at Gull Point exhibiting mating behavior (scraping, stone throwing and calling) but no females responded. But in 2017, a male plover appeared and shortly thereafter a female arrived. While that pair bonded and mated, another male and female took up residence. Both pairs laid eggs. The first pair successfully hatched and fledged two chicks. The second pair had to abandon their nest when the already high water rose higher. Fortunately, PGC biologists rescued the submerged eggs. A Michigan rearing facility successfully incubated and hatched the eggs. Those young birds were tagged and released to become part of the Great Lakes piping plover population.

Open habitat at Gulf Point is in better condition than it has been for many years. The birding community will continue watching and hoping that the next year and the years following will put Presque Isle back on the map as piping plover breeding grounds.

The Great Lakes Restoration Initiative launched in 2010 to tackle the long-standing problems and emerging challenges that must be addressed to revitalize the Great Lakes ecosystem. The control of invasive species and restoration of habitat to protect native species are major focuses of this program. The LEW-CWMA received funding through the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative for a number of years, which has allowed work to happen on several fronts. Pennsylvania Sea Grant created signage, published guides like the Mid-Atlantic Field Guide to Aquatic Invasive Species and engaged in many outreach events.

The PA Bureau of State Parks assembled crews of interns that spent their summers treating invasive plants on Presque Isle State Park. WPC funded a coordinator for the CWMA and continues to work with the CWMA partners to prioritize and treat invasive plant species in ecologically valuable areas within the watershed.

The LEW-CWMA has undertaken several dozen invasive species control projects oriented around the conservation of high-value ecological areas, also called Natural Heritage Areas (NHAs). These NHAs were identified in the 2012 update of the Erie County Natural Heritage Inventory. The LEW-CWMA will continue to identify new areas and landowners to work with, and raise awareness and interest among the residents of Erie and Crawford counties.