By Imani Jackson

Pennsylvania is losing habitat and natural resources for wildlife in Pennsylvania due to the development of housing, agriculture, energy and infrastructure. On top of that, climate change is doing even more damage.

Pennsylvania hosts a broad diversity of habitats, from deep forests, wetlands, beaches, and natural lakes, to shale and serpentine barrens. What is now the Philadelphia metropolitan area was once home to thousands of acres of freshwater tidal marsh.

You can get information about these issues here: https://waterlandlife.org/wildlife-pnhp/species-at-risk-in-pennsylvania/.

We complain about not having enough natural resources, but are we really doing anything to help preserve them? Expanding cities and development is impacting sea life by contaminating waters, creating unhealthy conditions for fish and sea animals to survive.

The nearly 17 million acres of forest within Pennsylvania provide a wide range including clean air, water, recreational opportunities, wood products, and habitat for thousands of plant and animal species. Forests are homes for animals and different plant species. That is why we need to do everything we can to help keep them clean, safe, and healthy.

Loss of habitat and natural resources is occurring due to development in both cities and rural areas.

Over 3,000 miles of streams and rivers now are polluted with acid mine drainage from coal mining–ruining aquatic ecosystems, impacting drinking water, and leaving many waterways colored orange, according to state authorties.

The public owns 30% of PA’s forest land. But with the development of shale gas, the state government quickly moved to capitalize by leasing out hundreds of thousands of acres of mineral rights beneath our state forest and game lands, further hurting the environment.

There is genuine need to improve infrastructure in many areas. It’s been over 50 years since some of our infrastructure was built. Many communities are dealing with corrosion of pipes and overflowing sewers that can lead to lead, mercury, bacteria and other toxins leaching into our drinking water.

In addition, climate change is impacting Pennsylvania and the world. Climate change is creating a warmer and wetter Pennsylvania with more extreme and variable weather. Like most of the world, Pennsylvania has already seen an increase in average annual temperature. Climate models predict that the temperatures will increase again by between 4-8 degrees Fahrenheit by 2050.

Recreation shifts due to climate change is a major issue. Overall warming and changes in the seasonal characteristics of precipitation are likely to have substantial impacts on recreation in the Northeast, including reduced winter recreation and increased warm season activities.

This likely will worsen ground-level ozone pollution problems in urban areas. Increased summer heat may increase insect populations. Warming fall temperatures may result in muted fall foliage colors. Summer recreational activities involving beaches or freshwater reservoirs will have extended seasons and more demand as havens from increasing summer heat.

The increased intensity and frequency of floods and droughts also may put water-related recreation activities at risk. Climate change is likely to have many consequences for Pennsylvania’s forests, indirectly affecting the recreational opportunities they provide.

According to state authorities, forest types in Pennsylvania already have begun to shift in many areas, from maple-beech-birch to oak-hickory-pine, resulting in major socioeconomic impacts on the hardwood industry and other forest-based industries in Pennsylvania.

Climate change threatens Pennsylvania’s cold water fisheries, many of which will be converted to warm water fisheries. Climate change is also likely to affect forest productivity and the frequency of natural disturbances (fire and drought), and reduce biodiversity.

Warm-weather invasive species are expanding into Pennsylvania, according to the Pennsylvania Wildlife Action Plan. This will create even more challenges for native species to survive.

As humans, we need to be more involved in helping make our environment clean for ourselves and wildlife. We need the natural resources just as much as the wildlife does, so we must do everything we can to restore a healthy environment.

Imani Jackson is a student at Dauphin County Technical School.