Ecosystem Management and Restoration

For landowners and land management professionals, no matter your skill level, these resources can help you identify, manage and restore the natural and ecological resources on your property.

Forests/Forestry
Meadows and Meadow Management
Wetlands
Protection of Wetlands
Pasture Management
Ponds
Riparian Buffers
Lawns

Forests/Forestry

• Forest Stewardship: Sources of Information and Guidance for Forest Stewards, PSU Extension
• Forest Stewardship: Best Management Practices for Pennsylvania Forests (or 48-page full version)
• Pennsylvania Forest Stewardship Program, PSU Extension and PA DCNR
• Planning your Forest's Future, PSU Extension
• Reestablishing the Vibrant and Majestic Eastern Forest, Brandywine Conservancy
• Fencing for Forest Regeneration: Does it Pay? PSU Extension

Meadows and Meadow Management

• Warm-season Grasses in Pennsylvania, NRCS
• Native Warm-season Grasses, NRCS
• Warm-season Grasses and Wildlife, PSU Extension
• Meadows and Prairies: Wildlife-friendly alternatives to lawn, PSU Extension

Wetlands

• National Wetland Research Center (USGS)
• Native Plants for Wet Soil Conditions, Bowman's Hill Wildflower Preserve

Protection of Wetlands

• Wetlands Reserve Program, Fact Sheet, Natural Resources Conservation

Pasture Management

• Grassland Birds in Fields and on Farms, Cornell Cooperative Extension, Cornell University
• Conservation of Private Grazing Land Program Fact Sheet (2004), NRCS, USDA
• Environmental Quality Incentives Program Fact Sheet (2003), NRCS, USDA
• Grassland Reserve Program Fact Sheet (2004), NRCS, USDA
• DEP Stream Bank Fencing Program Fact Sheet, PA DEP

Ponds

• Backyard Pond Tip Sheet, NRCS
• Construction and Management of Ponds, Pond Management publications, PSU Extension
• Ecologically Based Management of Small Ponds
• Management of Fish Ponds in Pennsylvania, PSU Extension (2000)

Riparian Buffers

• Importance of Forested Buffers
• Forested Stream Buffers, Brandywine Conservancy (1999)
• Where Rivers are Born, Sierra Club
• Management of Riparian Forest Restoration, Bern Sweeney
• Adopt-a-Buffer Toolkit: Monitoring and Maintaining Restoration Projects, Delaware Riverkeeper Network (142 pgs)
• Fencing In Riparian Areas - DEP Stream Bank Fencing Program, Landowner Participation Fact Sheet
• Fencing for Forest Regeneration: Does it Pay?, PSU Extension
• Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program (CREP) Questions and Answers, USDA

Lawns

• Managing Turfgrass Diseases, PSU Extension
• Lawn Management through the Seasons, PSU Extension
• Liming Turfgrass Areas, PSU Extension
• Recycling Turfgrass Clippings, PSU Extension
• Turfgrass Seed and Seed Mixtures, PSU Extension
• Helping the Environment Starts in Your Backyard, DNREC