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Hollow Oak News
"I think having land and not ruining it is the most beautiful art
that anybody could ever want to own."
- Andy Warhol
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Dec 30, 2013
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Volume 1, Number 9
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Hollow Oak Annual Report
 Thanks to the members, volunteers and partners of Hollow Oak Land Trust, 2013 was a great year for local land protection. We are building on this year's accomplishments to expand Hollow Oak conservation areas and to cultivate new connections to community parks, trails, waterways and other greenspaces. Enjoy the 2013 highlights below.
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 Land Stewardship
A Land Stewardship Plan and an Organizational Assessment were completed for Hollow Oak by E-Concepts, LLC, with support from the Land Trust Alliance. We logged over 1,000 volunteer hours in building and improving 7 miles of trails, 5 new bridges and 20 wayfinding signs at the Montour Woods Conservation Area. Volunteers used the new trails to remove over 4,000 lb. of trash and to control invasive species such as Japanese knotweed and Oriental bittersweet vines. For floodplain restoration of Meeks Run and Montour Run, Hollow Oak received funding for tree plantings from Moon Municipal Authority and submitted a pending grant request to TreeVitalize. For the second year in a row, natural trout reproduction was confirmed in Meeks Run thanks to a stream survey by Rick Lorson's team at the PA Fish & Boat Commission. Finally, a new effort to prosecute violators of motorized vehicular trespass and safety zone hunting was accomplished thanks to Gary Fujak and the PA Game Commission.
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 Land Acquisition
Three previous conservation areas are now contiguous, thanks to a 16-acre land donation from Moon Township. The resulting Montour Woods Conservation Area now includes 260 acres of prime wildlife habitat along Meeks Run, Montour Run and the wooded uplands around the former Nike missile site. To expand the Montour Woods' conservation and recreation benefits, a new greenway will connect it to the Montour Trail, Moon Community Park and other greenspace. A Trail Easement for the greenway was donated by Amesbury Village and we are working with private landowners to establish a new conservation area along nearby Trout Run.
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Collaboration
Collaboration is crucial in empowering small organizations such as Hollow Oak to have a major impact on the community. In addition to those mentioned above, we thank the following organizations for their 2013 teamwork: Robert Morris University, University of Pittsburgh, Allegheny CleanWays, PTAG, Pittsburgh Cares, Chippewa Township, Allegheny County Conservation District, Venture Outdoors, Botanical Society, Montour Run Watershed Association, Pittsburgh Greenspace Alliance, and the PA Land Trust Association.
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Funding
 This year, Hollow Oak Land Trust membership doubled to 150 households and we hope to double it again in 2014. To advance local land protection and stewardship, Hollow Oak was awarded grants from Massey Charitable Trust, Heinz Endowments, Colcom Foundation, and the Hillman Foundation. Financial, volunteer and in-kind support were received from our friends in the business community as well: FedEx Ground, Eaton Corporation, Keller Williams, The Mall at Robinson, Pittsburgh Airport Area Chamber of Commerce, Home Depot North Fayette, Lowes, Neville Aggregates, Pugliano Construction, REI and Aerotech Designs.
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Nature Notes: Owls Annat
The winter woods are quiet at night except for the extraordinary calls of owls. At the Montour Woods Conservation Area, you can hear great horned owls ("morse-code" hoots), barred owls (who-cooks-for-you? hoots) and diminutive screech owls (spooky whinnying). Owls breed in winter so their young will hatch in spring when prey animals abound. Starting in December, you can hear courtship calls of both sexes and territorial calls of the jousting males.
Barred owls (pictured) have wing spans close to four feet wide and they make a wide variety of sounds, including howls, screams, squeals, whoops, whines and barks. These versatile predators swoop down onto birds, rodents and other small animals, but they also wade into shallow water to catch fish, salamanders and crayfish by using their sharp talons.
This year, many spectacular snowy owls (Harry Potter's "Hedwig") are invading from the north in search of food. According to National Aviary ornithologist, Bob Mulvihill, "People should keep an eye out near airports and open grasslands," a perfect description of the Montour Woods Conservation Area!
Ornithologist Bob Mulvihill runs the local owl banding program for Project Owlnet, in which he broadcasts recordings of saw whet owls after dark to lure them into mist nets, where volunteers help with banding, data collection and release. This fall, Bob's team netted 11 saw whets and they may establish new sites at Hollow Oak Land Trust conservation areas in 2014. For more info: Robert.Mulvihill@aviary.org.
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Hollow Oak Land Trust | PO Box 741 | Coraopolis, PA 15108
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