| Nominated site: IMA #25, Central Susquehanna Valley Location: Parts of Dauphin, Juniata, Northumberland, Perry, Snyder, and Union Counties. |
 otter "slide" (a bank that otters use to access the river) on an island in the Susquehanna River |
This Important Mammal Area includes the Susquehanna River Valley from Sunbury in the north to Duncannon in the south. Its outline on the map looks like a tree, with a trunk formed by the river and the forest and wetland habitats along its western and eastern shores, and with eight branches formed by tributaries that flow into the river. This IMA contains critical habitat for the following wild mammal species: beaver, northern river otter, mink, muskrat, raccoon, gray squirrel, least weasel, southern flying squirrel, and several species of bats.
magenta line is the proposed boundary of IMA #25
Mammals that spend time in the water
True aquatic mammals include seals, dolphins, whales, and manatees. These critters have flippers and fins instead of paws, and other adaptations that help them live in water virtually full-time. Pennsylvania is not home to any truly aquatic mammals, but we do have several species of semi-aquatic mammals. Beavers, for example, spend much of their lives in the water, changing water flow by building dams, and accessing their lodges and food caches from under the water. They also like to eat the types of trees that are normally found around water, such as aspens and willows. Their feet have webs of skin between the toes, and their famous, lush fur coats insulate them in cold water. Otters, mink, and muskrats also have physical and behavioral adaptations that make them dependent on forested river and creek habitats.
The Susquehanna River as a migration route for mammals
Many birders are familiar with migration routes for birds. Hawks are known to use forested ridges to speed them on their way north or south using less effort than would be needed without the ridges’ thermal air circulation properties. Warblers and other songbirds use patches of green space up and down the eastern U.S. to stop and feed along their migration routes. Did you know that some bat species migrate, too, and that they need forest and river corridors in which to feed along the way? Two bat “condos” have been erected within this IMA to help bats find places to roost as they travel along the Susquehanna River. One is on Hoover Island in the river, and the other is in the town of Newport. In the floodplain where one of the major creeks meets the river, there is a barn that houses approximately 30,000 bats (little brown myotis, big brown myotis)! Some bats might stay and rear young at these locations.
A chance to experience this IMA
MYO and Riverfront Parks, on the eastern shore of the Susquehanna River in Millersburg, will be the site of the 11th annual Ned Smith Center Nature and Arts Festival on July 30 and 31, 2004. Attend the festival this year, enjoy the exhibits, vendors and workshops. You can walk the canal path in search of beaver dams or lodges. In the evening try to spot bats exiting from the bat boxes in the park, or from the many natural roosts provided by the trees in the area. Don’t be afraid – they won’t attack you! They are simply making a meal of the mosquitoes and other insects that would otherwise become pests. For more information, visit www.nedsmithcenter.org A ride on the Millersburg ferry would also provide a good look at the riverside forest and wetland habitat highlighted by this IMA.
Overlap with other conservation and awareness efforts
- This part of the Susquehanna River is included in Reach 3 according to the Susquehanna Greenway Partnership (www.susquehannagreenway.org).
- If you would like to view this area from a canoe, a river trail guide (the "Susquehanna River Water Trail Map") is available through the Susquehanna River Trail Association (www.susquehannarivertrail.org).
- Many opportunities for wildlife watching along this part of the river are highlighted in PA Audubon’s Susquehanna River Birding and Wildlife Trail materials (www.pabirdingtrails.org).
Sources of information:
Merritt, J.F. 1987. Guide to the mammals of Pennsylvania. Univ. of Pittsburgh Press, Pittsburgh, PA. 408 pp.
Important Mammal Areas full nomination materials, and final report to the Pennsylvania Game Commission, December 2003.
Photo Credit: Alana Hartman
tree partially eaten by beaver on an island in the Susquehanna River
*note to private landowners: participation in this project is voluntary. IMAP has no regulatory authority and does not seek it. Rather, this project aims to identify sites critical to wild mammal species, rare or common, in a proactive manner through nominations from PA residents, and to draw attention to these sites as tools for teaching people about mammals habitat needs.
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