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In 2008, St. Joseph’s applied for and was awarded a grant from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation to develop a land stewardship plan for our 222-acre property. Our request was for engaging an outside firm to: 1.) Assess the volume and condition of natural resource elements throughout the site, 2.) Identify warranted conservation and enhancement requirements, and 3.) Establish appropriate land management uses in concept, which will serve as the basis for a projected comprehensive plan envisioned for optimizing public use of the property.
After a rigorous selection process, examining numerous highly qualified proposals to conduct the assessment, St. Joseph’s chose Applied Ecological Services, Inc. to complete the project. Special Thanks go to Committee Chair and Board member Paul Kaercher and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Biologist Flavia Rutkosky for their tireless work.
Applied Ecological Services, Inc. has initiated the ecological assessment of The Saint Joseph’s Center for Community Service’s 222 acre property in Clayton, New Castle and Kent Counties, Delaware. Several site visits have been conducted since the beginning of the year. |
On March 22, 2010, AES biologist, Michael McGraw, performed an onsite assessment (including opportunistic bird observations), participated in the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation grant press release ceremony, and conducted an amphibian calling survey after sunset. Highlights included eight mammal species, and over 30 bird species, including a winter wren singing its most delightful song, many other songsters on territory, and an American kestrel performing a territorial call. Two reptile and five amphibian species were documented between the diurnal random opportunistic sampling and the nighttime amphibian calling survey.
St. Joseph’s looks forward to working with Applied Ecological Services, Inc. for the continued progress of this rich property.
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