Overview:

"The land had great depth of soil and gathered the water into itself and stored it up into the soil...and so afforded in all districts of the country liberal sources of springs and rivers..."

Water and soil quality and quantity are a basic measure of environmental health and sustainability. All things that grow upon the land have their base in soil, and all things take water into themselves. C.W. Fetter states; "Water is the elixir of life; without it life is not possible." (Applied Hydrogeology, 1994 pg.1) The Montreal Protocol's indicators for soil and water resources seek to measure these precious elements.

Analysis:

18. Area and percent of forest land with significant soil erosion: rill, sheet, gully, mass wasting, and roadside.
Very little erosion of any kind was observed on the farm. Most of the land is forested. The forest landing sites are quickly seeded with wildlife food mix. Erosion may take place at the old mine site, however, as reclamation activities were cut short due to lack of funds. After mining was completed in the '60s, revegetation efforts established some pines, but very little grasses or mature trees have developed.

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19. Area and percent of forest land managed primarily for protective functions, e.g., watersheds, flood protection, avalanche protection, riparian zones.
Several rivers have their headwaters on the property, including Turkey Run and Richey Run. Turkey Run is classified as a High Quality stream by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection. All consideration is given to protecting these areas.
Several wet areas from seeps are located on the property. These areas are avoided by heavy equipment during management activities. In addition, several seeps and an old pond will be developed for wildlife use. Please see #23 for more information.

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23. Bodies of water with significant variance of biological diversity from the historic range of variability.
No natural bodies of water besides streams are found on the property. An old pond was discovered and has been expanded. Two ponds, fed by springs and runoff, were constructed. Each is home to shiners, tadpoles, salamanders, and minnows. Walleye, bass, perch, and bluegill were also introduced and are now well established. Geese, ducks, and herons are also observed at the ponds.

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25. Area and percent of forest land experiencing an accumulation of persistent toxic substances.
No superfund sites present in this watershed. Any accumulation of toxic substances would be no higher then the general degredation due to acid rain and pollution coming to the Eastern United States from factories in the Mid-West and Canada.

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Indicators:

18. Area and percent of forest land with significant soil erosion: rill, sheet, gully, mass wasting, and roadside.
    
19. Area and percent of forest land managed primarily for protective functions, e.g., watersheds, flood protection, avalanche protection, riparian zones.
    
20. Percent of stream kilometers in forested catchments in which stream flow and timing has significantly deviated from the historic range of variation.
    
21. Area and percent of forest land with diminished organic matter or soil chemical properties.
    
22. Area and percent of forest land with significant soil compaction or changes in soil physical properties, resulting from human activities.
23. Bodies of water with significant variance of biological diversity from the historic range of variability.
    
24. Water bodies in forest areas with significant variation in acidity or alkalinity (pH), dissolved oxygen (dO), sedimentation, or temperature.
25. Area and percent of forest land experiencing an accumulation of persistent toxic substances.