Pennsylvania Natural Heritage Program
Natural Heritage Areas in Indiana Township
Natural Heritage Areas (NHAs) are sites identified by the Pennsylvania Natural Heritage Program (PNHP) as critical habitat for species or natural communities of concern. They identify, map, and discuss areas that support species of concern, exemplary natural communities, and broad expanses of intact natural ecosystems. Two NHAs have been identified in Indiana Township's watershed.
Two rare fish species are found in Deer Creek. A rare butterfly occurs in Emmerling Park — the conservation land donated by Dr. John F. Emmerling in 1974 that sits along the Little Deer Creek stream corridor.
The Deer Creek stream has been recognized by the Fish and Boat Commission as one of the most important streams in Allegheny County, supporting a wide variety of fish species. The Blue Run Valley is identified as a heritage area significant for its native plants and animals.
A northern hardwood forest on slopes overlooking Long Run — which flows south to meet Deer Creek through a largely forested landscape. A sensitive species of concern occurs here, making use of the forest habitat.
The species is not named by request of the jurisdictional agency responsible for its protection. It is ranked G3G4 globally, meaning it may be severely declining within Pennsylvania. This site does not currently overlap any protected land or conservation easement.
Allegheny County Conservation Corridors Plan · 1994
Deer Creek: A High-Priority Conservation Corridor
The Allegheny County Conservation Corridors Plan identified 29 major conservation corridors across the county. Indiana Township falls within Corridor 6: Deer Creek — ranked 4th highest priority out of 29 corridors countywide. This is among the most ecologically significant conservation corridors in Allegheny County.
Deer Creek Conservation Corridor
High Priority · 11,443 acres · Northeastern Allegheny County
The Deer Creek Corridor contains several Allegheny County Natural Heritage Inventory areas. The Deer Creek Valley Biological Diversity Area represents isolated pockets of natural land that have survived development and disturbance. The Campbell Run Valley BDA is recognized for high diversity resulting from elevational ranges and soils within a relatively large forest tract.
The Blue Run Valley Other Heritage Area is significant for its native plants and animals, and functions as an outdoor classroom for Fox Chapel School District. The corridor provides connections to the Stony Camp, Pine Creek, and Bull Creek Corridors and to the Allegheny River — which serves as the drinking water supply for the Pittsburgh metro area.
Indiana Township is one of 9 municipalities through which this corridor passes. The township's current wave of residential development — concentrated precisely in the creek corridors the plan was designed to protect — represents the kind of fragmentation the 1994 plan warned would reduce a corridor's conservation priority ranking over time.
The Township's Own Plan Recognized These Resources
The 2010 Indiana & West Deer Townships Joint Comprehensive Plan — adopted by both township Boards of Supervisors — formally identified Deer Creek, Little Deer Creek, Emmerling Community Park, and the Emmerling House among the township's natural and historic icons. The plan named streams including Deer Creek, Crawford Run, Blue Run, and Cedar Run as prominent waterways and documented their floodplains and wetlands.
The same plan projected 715 additional residential units in Indiana Township and 675 in West Deer Township over a 20-year horizon (2010–2030). The scale of development currently proposed or underway in both townships warrants comparison against those projections — a full accounting would require building permit data from both municipalities for the intervening years.
Conservation context
Threats to the Habitat
The threats documented in official PNHP and Allegheny County records align directly with what this platform tracks: residential development, impervious surface expansion, and degraded stormwater management in the watershed.
Development & Forest Fragmentation
The Long Run Slopes NHA has no current protected land overlay. The Cove Run Road PRD — 172 units proposed adjacent to State Game Lands — would fragment the forested habitat corridor that Long Run Slopes and the Deer Creek NHA depend on.
Stormwater Runoff & Stream Impairment
Deer Creek, Little Deer Creek, Pine Creek, and Cunningham Run are all on the PA DEP Section 303(d) list as impaired waterways. Each new impervious acre increases nutrient and sediment loading — directly threatening the rare fish species documented in Deer Creek.
Invasive Species — Long Run Slopes
Aggressive non-native plants are a primary threat at Long Run Slopes NHA. Left unchecked, invasive species crowd out the sensitive species of concern and other native plants. Continual monitoring and removal is recommended by PNHP.
Recreational Disturbance
ATV and dirt bike use — prohibited but still occurring at Long Run Slopes — damages the sensitive habitat directly. PNHP recommends signage to deter this activity. The sensitive species last observed in 2016; continued disturbance may explain lack of recent observations.
Pennsylvania Natural Heritage Program
Explore the Conservation Map
The PA Conservation Explorer, maintained by the Pennsylvania Natural Heritage Program, is the authoritative interactive map for NHA boundaries, protected lands, Chapter 93 stream designations, wetlands, and Important Bird Areas. It is updated regularly and reflects current state-level conservation data.
🗺️ PA Conservation Explorer — Indiana Township Area
Use the Conservation Explorer to view Natural Heritage Area boundaries, Chapter 93 Existing Use Streams, National Wetlands Inventory, and Protected Lands overlapping Indiana Township. The Deer Creek and Long Run Slopes NHAs are visible with the Natural Heritage Areas layer enabled.
Open Conservation Explorer → PNHP InventoriesTo find Indiana Township: open the map, search "Cove Run Rd, Cheswick, PA" or "Indiana Township, Allegheny County." Enable the Natural Heritage Areas and Chapter 93 Designated Streams layers in the Conservation Planning panel on the left.
Follow along as the community documents the park, the watershed, and the ongoing conservation story of Emmerling Park & Arboretum on Instagram.
Follow @friendsofemmerling →Primary Sources
- Pennsylvania Natural Heritage Program. 2021. Long Run Slopes NHA. Created 13 Jan 2021. naturalheritage.state.pa.us/inventories.aspx
- Pennsylvania Natural Heritage Program. Deer Creek NHA. naturalheritage.state.pa.us/inventories.aspx
- Allegheny County Planning Department. 1994. Allegheny County Conservation Corridors Plan. Prepared by Pashek Associates. Pittsburgh, PA.
- Delta Development Group, Inc. 2010. Indiana & West Deer Townships Joint Comprehensive Plan. Adopted Indiana Township Resolution No. 2010-12; West Deer Township Resolution No. 2010-10. Allegheny County, Pennsylvania.
- PA PNHP rank definitions: naturalheritage.state.pa.us/rank.aspx
- PA Conservation Explorer: ConservationExplorer.dcnr.pa.gov
- PA DEP Section 303(d) Impaired Waters List
- McPherson, J.I. (2013). Conservation Assessment of Calcareous Ecosystems. Wild Resources Conservation Program Grant #10391. Pennsylvania Natural Heritage Program.