Fulton County
Fulton County located in the southern section of Pennsylvania's Ridge and Valley Physiographic Province, is a place of diverse habitats. The northern part of the county holds two large wetlands - Wishart Swamp and Oregon Swamp, several limestone underlain valleys run diagonally across the central part of the county, and two of the major drainages that run south to the Potomac River (Licking and Tonoloway Creeks), cut through shale rock forming unique habitats known as shale barrens - little examples of desert-like habitat in Pennsylvania.
Cool Finds
This past summer, we located a population of the federally endangered Northeastern Bulrush (Scirpus ancistrochaetus) in a seasonal pool. The species is known only from about 60 populations scattered from New Hampshire and Massachusetts, south to West Virginia. The majority of the populations are located in Pennsylvania; however, this is the first population of Northeastern Bulrush discovered in Fulton County. The seasonally pool habitat is typically flooded in spring or autumn and may shrink or dry up completely in the drier summer months. These fluctuating water levels present in the pool provide important environmental conditions that this species needs to flourish.
Click here for additional Scirpus ancistrochaetus information.
Pictured is Wishart Swamp. This wetland is located at the headwaters of Sideling Hill Creek, a tributary to the Juniata River. Wishart Swamp is the location of three Pennsylvania plant species of special concern including lowland loosestrife (Lysimachia hybrida), netted chain fern (Woodwardia areolata) and shortleaf pine (Pinus echinata).
Oregon Swamp is located on Oregon Creek and is the location of two Pennsylvania plant species of special concern; yellow fringed orchid (Platanthera ciliaris) and weak rush (Juncus debilis). Oregon Swamp, unlike Wishart Swamp, is a succession of old and existing beaver impoundments.
Shale barrens are found in the southern half of the county on Tonoloway and Licking Creeks.
Shale barrens generally occupy south to southwest facing slopes where conditions are hot and dry. 
On shale barrens in Fulton County, we have found four Pennsylvania plant species of special concern, including shale barren primrose (Oenothera argillicola), Kate's mountain clover (Trifolium virginicum), shale barren groundsel (Packera antennariifolia) and lesser snakeroot (Ageratina aromatica). Pictured here is a barren on Licking Creek.
Calendar
o Fieldwork for the inventory will conclude by the end of September
o An Advisory Committee meeting was held on October 21, 2004 in McConnellsburg, Pa.
o A public presentation of the findings of the inventory will be scheduled in the Spring of 2006.
Recommend a Site
Click here to download our site recommendation form. Or submit a site online.
Contact
For questions relating to the Fulton Co. Inventory, please contact:
Christopher Tracey
Ecologist
Western Pennsylvania Conservancy
209 Fourth Avenue
Pittsburgh, PA 15222
(412) 586-2326
ctracey@paconserve.org