Pittsburgh Certified Wildlife Habitat : Started the work on my pond and amphibian habitat area.

I was lucky as a kid. I grew up in a small town that was surrounded by the Allegheny National Forest. I also had a mother who worked as a camp nurse for the Boy scouts Of America. This meant that my brothers and I got to spend our summers at the scout camps for free. We would spend every chance we had either in the creek or pond or we would go out and explore. I learned a lot about the forestry service and nature. I also learned to swim at Elk Lick Boy Scout Camp and would catch frogs, fish, salamanders, turtles bats, snakes and even ducks. The ranger at Elk Lick even let me keep the ducks because they were domestic and no one was going to be around to take care of them after the summer was over. I was given an award at Wolf Creek Scout Camp for nature and forestry even though I was not a Boy Scout. When I got older I became involved in Youth Conservation Corps and got to work at the Klondike Ranger Station in Marsh burg. This was in the Allegheny National Forest. My Grandparents also lived out in the country and we would go down to the creek to play or to the pond. My Father was a nature person and even though he died when I was very young he taught me a lot about the forest and about wildlife. these values continue with me even to this day with my wildlife habitat.

My big project this year is going to be my water feature and amphibian habitat. I have a pond that has been in my yard for the last six years. I took it out and filled in the hole where it used to be and moved it to the front corner of my back yard. This time I learned from my mistakes when I put the pond in before and made sure I would not make the same mistakes this time. I got the pond back in and will be adding a bog area along with two waterfall areas. the bog will feature a beach area for easy access in and out so I can attract amphibians. I also plan on getting rid of the goldfish and hope to replace them with Sunfish or Bluegills. the fish will only be kept in the pond and the bog area will be for frogs or whatever amphibians I can attract. I would love to find some newts or salamanders eventually in the area but will wait to see what comes to the pond on its own.I will keep my eye out for non native invasive species like Bullfrogs. If I find any in my habitat area I will not kill them but I will remove them from my habitat area. they make good pets. I do not want them n my wildlife habitat though because they will eat native species.