[From the U.S. Government Printing Office, www.gpo.gov]
-7 Pennsylvania Coastal Zone Management Program Presque Isle Visitor Center Interpretive Exhibits May, 1994 DER Grant/Contract No. CZ1:92.05PS Grant Task No. ME No. 93315 A REPORT OF THE PENNSYLVANIA DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL RESOURCES TO THE NATIONAL OCEANIC AND ATMOSPHERIC ADMINISTRATION PURSUANT TO NOAA AWARD NO. 00ashl PENNSYLVANIA ME of b, Project was financed in part through a federal Coastal Zone Management Grant from the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Resources, with funds provided by the NOAA. The views expressed herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of NOAA or any of its subagencies. ain enance Manual'. for... Exhibit Panels at - Presque Isle State Park Visitors' Center Erie Pennsylvania Prepared by 700 Crossroads Ct. xhibk Vandalia, Ohio 45377 AConcepts (513) 890-7000 I N C 0 R P 0 R A T E 0 FAX (513) 890-1750- May 6,1994 Project Synopsis The Pennsylvania Coastal Zone Management Program provided funding for a seven (7) panel exhibit on succession of Presque Isle State Park. The exhibit panels are located in the newly-renovated park visitor center. The six ecological zones, along with the introductory panel, have color coding and a cross section successional profile on the panel headers to help the visitor identify these zones throughout the exhibits. The goals of the exhibits are: 1. To encourage visitors and the local community to explore various successional stages occurring on Presque Isle peninsula. 2. To foster a sense of stewardship in the visitor and local community, through learning about the uniqueness of plant and animal communities on Presque Isle; to preserve and protect the natural communities. 3. To identify the visitor center as a Pennsylvania Bureau of State Parks facility. The project was completed through a cooperative effort between Pennsylvania's Coastal Zone Managment Program and the Pennsylvania Bureau of State Parks, both within the Department of Environmental Resources. The Bureau of State Parks provided a 50 percent match through in-kind services for research and story line development, visitor center modifications and materials and supplies. The contract to design and construct the exhibits was awarded to Exhibit Concepts of *Dayton, Ohio through an RFP process. The completed exhibits serve as the first phase of additional exhibits for the visitor center. To respond by Fax, dial 1-513-890-1750 Panel 1 Looking Back 600 Yews Presque Isle Is a natural outdoor laboratory. Within a distance of three miles, from the newly formed eastern tip westward, you can review six centuries of plant communities-from pioneer beach plants to climax for- est ecosystems. "Unfortunately there Is only one Presque Isle.` O.E. Jennings Personal Letter, 1952 From the waters edge to the climax forest more than 600 species of plants have been found here. More than 300 bird species, many not found elsewhere in Pennsylvania, are here. This Is Indeed one of nature's special places. Are you into zoning? The plants and animals of Presque Isle are. There are six distinct ecological zones on Presque Isle,each with a different plant/animal community. They include: Lake Erie,bay and water's edge; sand plain and new ponds; dunes and ridges; old ponds and marshes; thickit and sub-climax forest; and climax forest. We will tell you more about each of these unique places. Right before your eyes. These zones are not dramatic or abrupt like ring of a tree, but are very subtle blends of one into the other. Where hip water and human interference have disrupted growth, strange mixtures may be seen, such as willows and cottonwoods growing in a climax forest where they do not really belong. It is natures way of mending the damage. 05/13/94 09:57 513 890 1750 EXHIBIT CONCEPTS 002 Panel 1 Predictable yet unpredictable, stable, yet always changing, old but new- Presque Isle Is unique Why? Read on. Where did It come from? Presque Isle is a recent feature of Lake Erie which some believe formed less than 11,000 years ago after the final retreat of glacial fee. Others believe that it was formed from the mouth of one of our major streams, such as Walnut Creek as early as 1,000 years ago. The exact answer remains a mystery. What's in a name? About one mile across al, its widest, point Presque Isle is attached to the mainland four miles west of the City of Erie. But the Isle has been 'both" an island and a peninsula - its form changes yearly. Presque Isle means "almost an island." Can you see It grow? As westerly waves wash upon the beaches in a diagonal direction, sand and Wes carried with them are left on the shore as the waves recede. Upon each wave's rush, they are deposited a little farther east, adding to Presque Isle's eastward growth. Geologists think that the peninsula has moved eastward one-half mile per century. You can stand on the shoreline and watch it grow-if you have some time on your hands. 05/13/94 09:58 513 890 1750 EXHIBIT CONCEPTS 003 Panel 2 Did you know...? The Great Lakes constitute one of the most Important natural resources in the world Lake Erie Is the shallowest of the five Great Lakes, and Is especially vulnerable to pollution. Butthe fact that about 50% of the total Great Lake's fish are produced here, indicates the lake is in fairly good shape today- Lake Erie Is part of a major route for migrating waterfowl, whose survival is In part due to the health of the lake. Presque Isle Bay was created by the natural formation of a long recurring sand spit. That spit, which is Presque Isle, has made the bay an important I Industrial and recreational area by protecting the Erie harbor and main- land from lake storms. 05/13/04 09:58 513 890 1750 EXHIBIT CONCEPTS 004 Panel 2 THE REMARKABLE BEGINING The drama of Preque Isle's beginnings is revealed at the water's edge. Like a wet desert, the place where the waves pound and winds sweep holds few living things-the water's edge. The newly deposited sands appear almost barren for about the first year. Life takes hold here on the lower beach where the pioneer ecological zones of plant and animal life begin. At least three plants able to adapt to this harsh and unstable condition near the water's edge-sea rocket,clot bur, and sea-beach spurge-help bind the shifting sands. Here for a visit? Offshore winds blow insects from other areas to the water's edge where stones and birs of drift provide them temporary protection. Other animals visit the water's edge as well, such as many kinds of shore birds who rest here in large numbers during their yearly migrations. 05/13/94 09:59 0513 890 1750 EXHIBIT CONCEPTS 005 Panel 2 Gull Point Natural Area The Most Special Place The most fragile, the most dynamic, the most diverse of all habitats on Presque isle is the far east end. Why? Read on. A continuously changing sand spit, Gull Point Natural Area constitutes about 300 acres of beach, sand plain, pond, dunes, thicket and sub-cli- max forest. It is widely known as a site of significant concentrations of migrating birds and unusual plants. Bird ranties, particularly water birds and shore birds, can be expected with regularity. Many plant species are rare, some unique to Pennsylvania. 03/13/94 09:59 513 890 1750 EXHIBIT CONCEPTS 008 Panel 2 quote Here (at Presque Isle) where the waves washed into our feet, we could see with our own eyes, a kind of creation - a new land being born of bright pebbles and shifting sand and new inhabitants moving into their own little niches,their own special Gardens of Eden." -Edwin L. Peterson "Penn's Woods West" 1959 05/13/94 10:00 513 890 1750 EXHIBT CONCEPTS 007 Panel 3 Extending from the upper reach of winter waves is the sand plain. In some places, if is artly sheltered by sand ridges protecting it from the harshness of lake winds. Conditions here result In richer soil with greater water-holding capacity. Thus the plain is characterized by a wide variety of unique plants, several found nowhere else in Pennsylvania. Included among the flowering varieties on the sand plain are; Rose Pink Brook lobella* Beach pea* Flax Russian thistle Gerardia Cypress spurge Wormwood Rabbit-foot clove Nodding ladies' tresses Hairy puccoon* Obedient plant Lupine Lyre-leafed rock cress *Species of special concern in Pennsylvania Later the sand plain is invaded by bayberry. Many bird species of open spaces can be found here at any time of the year. 05/13/94 10:00 513 890 1750 EXHIBIT CONCEPTS 008 Panel 3 How a pond is born0. As westerly Lake Erie waves rush upon Presque Isle's beaches, curving deposits of sand are sometimes left along the shore. These water filled depressions, if big enough, may eventually form new Ponds. Staying around may be hard for a new pond. waves may breach the pond's edges or sand may fill them. If the pond escapes destruction by natural forces, plant and animal suc- cession in and around it will slowly begin. Cottonwood seedlings are among the first to take root there, and anchor the sand around them. Through this type of process-plants holding the sand together-Presque isle was formed. Growing near a newly-formed pond on Gull Point is silverweed, a plant unique in western Pennsylvania. 05/13/94 10:01 513 890 1750 EXHIBIT CONCEPTS 009 Panel 4 The Amazing Dunes The most complex ecological features at Presque isle are the dunes and ridges. Summer waves pile up sand, which is picked up the wind and carried until something blocks the wind. Cottonwood and seedlings, the first plants to take hold on the moist edges of new ponds, help stop the drifting sand. As the sand stops there and accumulates, miniature dunes form. As plants like dune grass begin to grow an the dune, more sand is stopped and the dune continues to grow. Changing winds may change the form or shape of dunes, or erase them completely. After many years, decomposing plants on surviving dunes changes the sand enough to allow other plants to live there Eventually, the dune could be completely covered with plants as the process of succession continues. 5/13/94 10:01 513 890 1750 EXHIBIT CONCEPTS 010 Panel 4 Reading a Ridge Formed by storm winds and waves, a series of east-west sand ridges characterize Presque Isle. Usually parallel to the lake, their vegettion helps determine when an original beach lagoon was formed. It has been determined that Long Ridge, more than half a mile from the present shore line, was actually the eastem shore of the peninsula around 1862. Bayberry is a predominant shrub. Wintering yellow-rumped warblers depend upon Its fruit for subsistence. Fox dens can be found in some of the ridges or dunes. When white pine and red maple take over, neither ridges nor dunes are readily recognized. 05/13/94 10:02 513 890 1750 EXHIBIT CONCEPTS 011 Panel 5 History In the Ponds A complicated network of Old Ponds and marshes is embraced by Presque Isle. They help determine the historic shores of the peninsula. For example Cranberry Pond is estimated to be more than 300 years old. As ponds age, their edges may support different plants, such as cattails, sedges, bulrushes, an phragmites. Waterlillies may appear after about 40 years, Tufted loosetrife can occasionally be found near 100-200 year old ponds. The great and abundance of plant and animal life is found In the shallow, calm, older waters. Look for beavers, turtles, and colorful dragon- flies. Here on Presque Isle many of the old ponds and marshes are connected by a channel to form the lagoon. To be a marsh As ponds age, the vegetation at their edges accumulates soil and debris.. Slowly the edges of pond close in with less and less open water. A marsh is born as a pond dies. Like a bay and crowded city alive with excitement a marsh is filled with a, variety of plant and animal life. During the spring and summer months, marsh music fills the air with songs from everything from courting birds, to frogs and insects. There Is always something, going on if you take the time to look and listen. What might you met Long-billed marsh wrens, least and American bit- tems soras and Virginia rails, red-winged blackbirds and black ducks nest here. Characteristic shrubs are buttonbush, willows and alders. Especially attractive are blueflag, arrowheads and water plaintain. Flowering rush has also been found as well as swamp rose mallow, an especially showy plant when in blossom. As natural succession takes place, these marshes dry and become over- grown with thicket. 05/13/94 10:02 513 890 1750 EXHIBIT CONCEPTS 012 Panel 5 " The peninsula should be a natural reserve for the people of Frie forever, it should belong to all of the peopel." -John Miller, 1909 A Twentieth Century History of Eire County Pennsylvania 05/13/94 10:03 513 890 1750 EXHIBIT CONCEPTS 013 Panel 6 In the thick of things! As Dunes and ridges age, they can support a dense thicket of poison ivy, greenbriars, blackberry, bittersweet wild grapes Not a great place for us to live but a wonderful home to many different kinds of birds, insects and mammals. Can you think of some that would like to live here? After the thicket comes a sub-climax forest. This is home to new kinds of plants like wild cherries, cottonwoods, white pines, and red maples. Even- tually shade-enduring red or black oaks begin to outlive other vegetation and take over the spot. Here, where the thicket and fbrest merge, may apples, sorry false Solomon's seal and rarely, orchids can be found. New neighbors? With the changing of the habitats, comes new residents such as mice, squirrels, chipmunks, rabbits, skunks, foxes and opossums. Many different kinds of birds also begin to move in, like thrushes, finches, waxwings and flycatchers. But it's not over yet! Changes am still on the way for the development of our Presque Isle climax forest. 05/13/94 10:03 513 890 1750 EXHIBIT CONCEPTS 014 Panel 7 From sandy and barren shoreline and hundreds of years of slow, constant change, the sub-climax forest is Invaded by hemlocks, sugar maples and, finally, lack and red oaks. The transformation Will be complete and change no more unless the climax forest is removed by nature-or people- This is a stable condition and no new climax plant species are expected to grow here. About 200 acres of the oldest climax forest on Presque Isle was cleared in 1956 to develop the Marina. Along West Fisher Drive, one can see what remains. in this climax forest the most notable plants are mosses, ferns, and a few Wildflowers, including star flower and Indian Pipe. Deer can be seen here but since they require a wide spectrum of habitats, they can be found in each of the zones throughout Presque Isle. 05/13/94 10:04 513 890 1750 EXHIBIT CONCEPTS 015 Recognition copy Presque Isle State Park staff would like to thank the following people made fin portion of the Visitor Center possible: Coastal Zone Management Jean Stull Evelyn Anderson Bob Grubbs Sam Stull 05/13/94 10:04 0513 $00 1750 EMBIT CONCEPTS Red-winged Blackbird Thicket and Sub-climax Forest Red-winged 131aftiM Wild Grapes Swamp Rose Mallow Green Bean American Ifflittem Mayapple (Flowers) Blue Flag Red Maple Paves) Rowedno Rush Red Squiffel Old Pond (Niagara) Fox Squini 05/13/04 10:05 0513 $00 1750 EXHIBIT CONCEPTS im 017 Fox Squirrel House Finch Amfloan Tree Spmw Ch.ickadee saw-met owl Domy WbodpwAer Saw-Met Owl (With Vole) VVhfte Pine Tree Whfte Tail Doe Hellabodne Chipmonk Eastem Hemlock Tree Red Oak Skunk 05/L3/94 10:05 0513 $90 1750 EXHIBIT CONCEPTS Fragrant Water Uly Beaver Lagoons at Sunset Pairftd Turtle Lagoons in Autumn Widow Dragonfly on Black-eyed Susan Common Cattail Marsh Bladderwort Marsh Wren Wg" Smartwe9d Mckerelweed (Whole Plants) Tufted Loosestrife Plokeralweed (Flowers) 05/13/94 10:06 513 890 1750 ENHIBIT CONCEPTS 019 Brook Lobelia, Dunes and Dune Grasses Purple Gerardla Dune and Cottonwoods Nodding Ladies Tresses Bayberry Obedient Plant Fox Kits at Den Silverweed Monarch Butterfly on Bayberry Young Cottonwood Trees Eastern Black Swallowtail on Goldenrod New Pond Spatterdock 05/13/94 10:06 513 890 1750 EXHIBIT CONCEPTS 020 Sea Rocket Beach Pea Plant Beach Clotbur Beach Pea Flowers Seaside Spurge Cypress Spurge Ruddy Tumstone Wild Lupine Willet Sand Plain Gull Point Eastern Bluebird Hairy Pucooon Rose Pink 05/13/94 10:07 513 890 1750 EXHIBIT CONCEPTS 021 Water's Edge - Lake Erie Bufflehead Duck Dune Scaup Duck Ridge Canvasback, Mallards, Goldeneyes Old Pond Tundra Swans, Canvasbacks Thicket & Sub-climax Forest Ring-billed Gull Climax Forest Greater Black-backed Gull Redhead Duck Honing Gull 5/13/94 10:07 513 890 1750 EXHIBIT CONCEPTS 022 Yellow Perch Black Crappie Lake Trout 05/13/4 10:08 0513 890 1750 EXHIBIT CONCEPTS 023 Oak Trees Moss on Old Log Emerging Ferns Climax Forest Starflower Indian Pipe 0 C) ca = 20 nN D DFTAH 0 2'- 11 11/16" ELEVATION A DETAILS m BUREAU OF STATE PARKS PA. 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