Tifft Nature Preserve Management Plan - Buffalo Museum of Science
Tifft Nature Preserve Management Plan - Buffalo Museum of Science
Tifft Nature Preserve Management Plan - Buffalo Museum of Science
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Buffers<br />
Several adjacent parcels <strong>of</strong> property provide additional habitat for plants and<br />
animals and function as valuable buffers to the preserve (Figure 1). To the south, there<br />
are several parcels that create a barrier to noise and road pollution from <strong>Tifft</strong> Street, as<br />
well as visually blocking the busy road. The largest <strong>of</strong> these parcels is the city owned<br />
ball fields which have limited value for wildlife, but are still greenspace, and community<br />
recreation is a very compatible adjacent land use. There is also a mitigated wetland<br />
owned by NYS Department <strong>of</strong> Transportation (DOT) on the corner <strong>of</strong> <strong>Tifft</strong> Street and<br />
Fuhrmann Boulevard. Although Phragmites is abundant in this wetland, it still can<br />
provide wildlife habitat and a natural filter for water running <strong>of</strong>f the adjacent roads.<br />
Active management <strong>of</strong> this wetland could also reduce the amount <strong>of</strong> Phragmites and<br />
improve the ecological function <strong>of</strong> the wetland. Between the ball fields and the wetland<br />
there are three narrow parcels. Two are owned by the Niagara Frontier Transit<br />
Authority (NFTA) and the other by an unknown owner. These thin strips are dominated<br />
by wet woods that flood during heavy rains, spring snow melt, or when beavers dam the<br />
culvert under Old <strong>Tifft</strong> Street. Extending from the southeast corner <strong>of</strong> the marsh to the<br />
north on the east side <strong>of</strong> the preserve is a large parcel <strong>of</strong> land owned by the bankrupted<br />
Lehigh Valley Railroad. This piece <strong>of</strong> property runs along the entire eastern side <strong>of</strong> the<br />
preserve from the bridge on <strong>Tifft</strong> Street on the south to the railroad tracks that wrap<br />
around the north along the <strong>Buffalo</strong> River. Between the Lehigh Valley land and the<br />
preserve are two parcels under the power lines owned by National Grid on the<br />
preserve’s northern and eastern border. The lease agreement between the City <strong>of</strong><br />
<strong>Buffalo</strong> and the <strong>Buffalo</strong> Society <strong>of</strong> Natural <strong>Science</strong>s allows the Society to operate <strong>Tifft</strong><br />
<strong>Nature</strong> <strong>Preserve</strong> on city land, and states that the city has a wetland easement on the<br />
National Grid property and grants use and possession within the lease agreement to the<br />
Society. Consolidated Railroad, as well as other railroad companies, own parcels not<br />
directly adjacent to the preserve to the north and east. Lehigh Valley Railroad also<br />
owns several parcels in the area north and east <strong>of</strong> the preserve which are separated by<br />
active railroad tracks.<br />
Expanding <strong>Tifft</strong> <strong>Nature</strong> <strong>Preserve</strong> to include some or all <strong>of</strong> these buffer lands<br />
would increase the amount <strong>of</strong> habitat available to the preserve’s plants and animals and<br />
would protect sensitive habitats, like the remnant marsh, from external threats such as<br />
pollution, invasive species, and development. Since the Society currently doesn’t own<br />
the property <strong>of</strong> the preserve, outright purchase <strong>of</strong> these lands is an unlikely option.<br />
However, several other options exist for incorporation into the preserve including:<br />
acquisition by the city and inclusion in the lease agreement with the Society, separate<br />
easement or lease agreements between the Society and the current owners, or drafting<br />
Memorandums <strong>of</strong> Understanding (MOU’s) designating access and uses between the<br />
Society and the current owners. The exact legal agreements may differ for individual<br />
parcels and owners, but should all be included under the umbrella mission and<br />
management <strong>of</strong> <strong>Tifft</strong> <strong>Nature</strong> <strong>Preserve</strong>.<br />
The incorporation <strong>of</strong> all <strong>of</strong> these parcels would create a contiguous preserve,<br />
inclusive <strong>of</strong> the easement on National Grid’s property, stretching from the railroad tracks<br />
<strong>Tifft</strong> <strong>Nature</strong> <strong>Preserve</strong> <strong>Management</strong> <strong>Plan</strong> 17