Overall Rating	Gold - expired
Overall Score	65.98
Liaison	Audrey McSain
Submission Date	Feb. 26, 2021

STARS v2.2

Lehigh University
OP-10: Biodiversity

Status	Score	Responsible Party
	0.50 / 1.00 This credit is weighted more heavily for institutions that own or manage land that includes or is adjacent to any of the following: Legally protected areas (e.g., IUCN Category I-VI) Internationally recognized areas (e.g., World Heritage, Ramsar, Natura 2000) Priority sites for biodiversity (e.g., Key Biodiversity Areas, Alliance for Zero Extinction sites) Regions of conservation importance (e.g., Endemic Bird Areas, Biodiversity Hotspots, High Biodiversity Wilderness Areas) 2 points are available for this credit if the institution owns or manages land that includes or is adjacent to any of the above. 1 point is available for this credit for all other institutions. Close	Erin Kintzer Director of Real Estate Services Business Services

"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Does the institution own or manage land that includes or is adjacent to legally protected areas, internationally recognized areas, priority sites for biodiversity, or regions of conservation importance?:

A brief description of the legally protected areas, internationally recognized areas, priority sites for biodiversity, and/or regions of conservation importance:

N/A

Endangered and vulnerable species

Has the institution conducted an assessment to identify endangered and vulnerable species (including migratory species) with habitats on land owned or managed by the institution?:

Yes

A list of endangered and vulnerable species with habitats on land owned or managed by the institution, by level of extinction risk:

Eared False-Foxglove (Agalinis auriculata): endangered according to the USDA within Pennsylvania

Areas of biodiversity importance

Has the institution conducted an assessment to identify areas of biodiversity importance on land owned or managed by the institution?:

A brief description of areas of biodiversity importance on land owned or managed by the institution:

N/A

Methodologies

If yes to either of the above, provide the following:

The methodologies used to identify endangered and vulnerable species and/or areas of biodiversity importance and any ongoing assessment and monitoring mechanisms:

The Western Pennsylvania Conservancy (WPC), Pennsylvania Natural Heritage Program, brought to our attention the presence of the Eared False-Foxglove. They monitor the plant's presence by counting the number of species each year.

A brief description of the scope of the assessment(s):

WPC monitors the Eared False-Foxgloves's presence by counting the number of species each year. The University allowed the WPC to explore additional nearby University property with similar soil features. The WPC identified another previously unknown population of the Eared False-Foxglove on University owned property.

A brief description of the plans or programs in place to protect or positively affect identified species, habitats, and/or ecosystems:

This past year, the University put up a snow fence to protect the one population of Eared False-Foxglove. This action was recommended by the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy. This year we will add snow fencing to the newly identified plant population noted above.

Optional Fields

Estimated percentage of areas of biodiversity importance that are also protected areas :

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Website URL where information about the institution’s biodiversity initiatives is available:

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Additional documentation to support the submission:

Eared_False_Foxglove_Fact_Sheet.pdf

Data source(s) and notes about the submission:

Biodiversity efforts were not impacted by COVID-19 and therefore are representative or a normal year.