Sunday, October 19, 2003

By David Templeton, Post-Gazette Staff Writer

When Jill Nadzam released a great horned owl near the Sawhill Covered Bridge in Blaine, the bird with amber eyes big as egg yolks flapped his way to a majestic tree, where he seemed startled to be smack in the middle of Owl Paradise USA.

	Seldom Seem, David Templeton's whimsical perspective on life and times in and around Washington County, appears weekly in Washington Sunday.

Perching on a branch above Buffalo Creek, he peered through crystalline air and soon realized there were nearby owl taverns offering shots of pure water, owl restaurants with rodents to go and the best in owl entertainment, including woodlands, wetlands and wonderlands.

He stood on the branch, pinching himself. I saw him.

I even heard him say, "Hoot damn" a few times.

The owl that had broken a wing in Washington was sent in July to the Animal Rescue League's Wildlife Center in Penn Hills for rehabilitation. Nadzam, the rehabilitation manager, chose to release him Oct. 10 in one of the best bird habitats in the region.

Before the owl release, Audubon Pennsylvania announced its designation of game lands mostly in Blaine as one of the state's 81 Important Bird Areas. The estimated 4,000 to 5,000 acres of game lands encompasses the Lower Buffalo Creek watershed and includes the environs of Dutch Fork Lake in Donegal Township. These areas feature high-quality water and native woodlands where any bird could feather a fine nest.

Imagine breaking an arm and being released in Hawaii, Tahiti or, indeed, Blaine.

"This is the crown jewel of the state game lands," Barry Zaffuto, the Game Commission's regional land management supervisor, said during the ceremony.

The game lands in Blaine were the result of a land swap between the Game Commission and Washington County that acquired game-land property in Hanover for use as the Starpointe Industrial and Business Park in exchange for as many as 4,000 acres in Blaine for use as game lands. The Game Commission has not determined precise boundaries of the new game lands. To view the area, follow Route 221 north of Taylorstown.

Although many acknowledge Blaine's natural beauty, no one realized how robust the bird habitat was until two men began figuring ways to prevent development, with particular concern for Allegheny Power's interest in building a power plant on 400 acres it owns in the new game lands.

Jim Powell, a Buffalo environmentalist, and Michael Vacca, a Blaine history enthusiast and member of the Buffalo Valley Alliance, decided to work together to protect the Lower Buffalo Creek watershed's natural beauty and historical legacy that includes 60 archeological sites, the sites of nine pioneer forts and various Native American trails.

"This place has been lightly treaded upon forever," said Powell, who protested against Pennzoil's oil-recovery project in Blaine in the 1980s. "We need to educate people about what's here."

Eventually the two contacted Audubon Pennsylvania, and it dispatched the Three Rivers Birding Club in Allegheny County to conduct a bird survey. What ornithologists discovered made their spirits fly and gave them license to crow.

They documented 2,000 birds and 80 species, including ones they never expected to find in such numbers. Most notable were migratory forest birds including 54 male Cerulean warblers, 146 Acadian flycatchers and 28 Louisiana waterthrushes. Surveyors also documented 51 great blue heron nests.

Great blue herons, with their S-shaped necks, stand 38 inches and feature 6-foot wingspans. They require fresh water and live on a diet of small fish, frogs and insects. They are present but not abundant throughout Pennsylvania, so the booming population in Lower Buffalo Creek was startling.

"Water quality is pretty good, and the area has aquatic resources benefiting the great blue heron," said Steve Hoffman, Audubon Pennsylvania's director of bird observation.

The number and types of birds "blew us away," he said.

"We cannot save everything, so we must strive to save the areas most critical, and the Lower Buffalo Creek is one of those areas," he said during the celebration, which drew 80 people, including leaders of environmental and government organizations and one anxious owl.

Birds found in Blaine are important because populations are declining nationwide because of habitat destruction.

John Walliser of the Pennsylvania Environmental Council said 21 percent of the state's nesting bird species are imperiled and 16 species are endangered or threatened. Sufficient habitat is crucial to their survival.

But at the current pace of land usage, he said, 20 percent of the state's "unprotected forests, fields and open space will disappear in 20 years. The rate has tripled in just two decades despite below-average population growth in the state."

Maintaining natural habitat does not limit financial opportunities.

Hoffman said 27 percent of the U.S. population participates in bird-watching, one of the fastest-growing outdoor activities. Others said so-called "ecotourism" -- tourism based on nature and environmental attractions -- draws hordes of people. County residents could benefit by opening restaurants, shops and bed-and-breakfasts in and around the IBA to accommodate bird watchers who travel great distances to enjoy habitats like Lower Buffalo Creek.

The Three Rivers Birding Club has adopted the IBA and will serve as a steward while continuing to monitor bird populations.

"This is the first of many steps to enlighten people as to the significance of the area," Powell said. "People will realize this area has the significance of Pymatuning [Crawford County], Presque Isle [Erie County] and Cape May [N.J.]. All we need to do here is back off and let Mother Nature do what she's done for eons."

As the owl symbolized, let nature wing it.

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