Plasma cutting steel staircase Tung oil applied on trim woodwwork Floors milled from site grown trees Septic field restoration Reflecting afternoon sun Birth of a barn on Bragg Hill Radiant floors Solar panel installation Capping off the chimney Proud shape emerges on the hilltop Pumping concrete into the three gables Forming 12x12 Gables Delivering concrete from the sky Parallam beam positioning Flying flitch beam ICF window framing Precision concrete placement Lower level ICF fabrication Newly excavated driveway Finishing garage deck concrete Pouring concrete footers Rebar safety caps Surveying the construction site Checking out the excavation equipment Rapid soil stabilization Testing the soils for drainage Taking Solar Pathfinder measurements Milling downed trees onsite View to the Southeast over the Benzel Family Trust Future meadow to be cultivated Taking a stroll on Bragg Hill Road

60 Bragg Hill receives partial PNDI clearance

The Pennsylvania Natural Diversity Inventory (PNDI) gave 60 Bragg Hill a clearance today for screened endangered plants, terrestrial invertebrates, natural communities and geologic features. Last month, The Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR) expressed a preliminary concern about a potential for the existence of six endangered plant species on the site including:

     
  • Andropogon gyrans (Elliott’s Beardgrass)  
  • Aplectrum hyemale (Puttyroot)  
  • Scleria pauciflora (Flowered Nutrush)  
  • Senecio anonyma (Plain Ragwort)  
  • Spiranthes vernalis (Spring Ladies’-tresses)  
  • Tipularia discolor (Cranefly Orchid)

By state request, we employed the services of a licensed botanist to ascertain the existence of the above plant species. We hired Janet Ebert who conducted a thorough botanical field survey and provided DCNR with a detailed report of her findings: that despite the rich biodiversity of the site, there is no evidence that this parcel of land could support these six endangered plants.