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Corporate Member - United States Steel Corporation 
Wetlands at United States Steel's South Taylor Environmental Park
serve as a home for wildlife and an outdoor classroom for neighboring schools.
UNITED STATES STEEL CORPORATION As a founding member of the Wildlife Habitat Council, United States Steel has been a strong proponent of habitat projects. Eight sites actively manage their land for wildlife, including Clairton, Mon Valley Works, and South Taylor Environmental Park, all located within the Three Rivers Habitat Partnership region. Clairton Works
Total Acreage: 500
Acreage Managed for Wildlife: 60
Location: along the Monongahela River in Clairton, Pennsylvania
Description/ Activities: - Nest box placement and monitoring for cavity nesters
 - Butterfly and herb gardens
 - Rotationally-mowed 55-acre woodland meadow
- Enhanced wetland alongside meadow created by adding a dam featuring cardinal flower, blue iris, switchgrass, and zebra rush.
Community Outreach:
Various eagle scout projects have been completed on site, including a bridge to the wetland, a trail for the blind, and a pavilion. US Steel employees at the site have also formed a partnership with the Jefferson Elementary School to develop habitat programs on school grounds. In 1997, a 4,000-square-foot wildflower garden was created in a combined effort by U.S. Steel, local businesses, the PTA, parents, administrators, and teachers. The YWCA Garden Club of McKeesport has been an active partner with the site’s wildlife team since 1991. In response to an article in the local newspaper, the club volunteered to design, build, and maintain a butterfly garden at the site. One of the club’s projects is a garden therapy program which engages special education children at the U.S. Steel garden and other sites. In recognition of the club’s efforts, WHC awarded them the first Community Partner of the Year Award in 1998! Mon Valley Works
Total Acreage: 500+
Acreage Managed for Wildlife:
Location: consists of the Irvin and Edgar Thompson Plants on more than 500 acres in Dravosburg and Braddock, Pennsylvania.
Description/ Activities: - Mature hardwood forests, mowed turf, and open fields
- Constructed a half-acre wetland and pond
- Five gardens and two wildflower meadows, comprising over 45,000 square feet, for habitat for a variety of birds and insects
 - Over seventy nest boxes placed and monitored to provide nesting areas for a variety of species, including eastern bluebirds, house wrens, tufted titmice, and black-capped chickadees
- Nest box program expanded via structures for American kestrels, eastern screech-owls, red-tailed hawks, and
 bats - Supplemental food plots and brush piles
- A rotational mowing schedule in rights-of-way to enhance habitat for pheasants and other wildlife
- Archery hunting program for employees to manage the on-site white-tailed deer herd
Community Outreach
Environmental education is a site priority. A trailer was transformed into an education center that hosts periodic tours of the habitat enhancement areas. Inside, interactive exhibits allow students to see and touch specimens found on site. In 1998, a team of more than 300 volunteers, including employees, family members, and community and youth organizations, completed a half-acre wetland and pond that is now used as part of the environmental educational program. South Taylor Environmental Park
Total Acreage: 500+
Acreage Managed for Wildlife:
Location: West Mifflin, Pennsylvania
Description/ Activities: - Historically used for the disposal of steelmaking by-products from U.S. Steel’s local plants for about 90 years
- 2.5-acres converted into a wetland
- a floating island and waterfowl shelter
 - butterfly gardens, bird feeders
- nest box program for wood ducks, eastern bluebirds, and Carolina wrens
- Native warm season grasses planted with Pheasants Forever
- a white-tailed deer management program with the Pennsylvania Game Commission
- beekeeping program with Bees R Us
 - trail and pavilion to complement extensive education program
Community Outreach
In 1993, an innovative partnership was formed between United States Steel, the Baldwin-Whitehall School District, and the community. A 2.5-acre portion of the site was converted into a wetland and adopted by the school district for an environmental education program that focuses on wetland education in the context of a sustainable society. Over the past six years, more than 8,000 students have participated in hands-on environmental activities, including observation, analysis, and discussion of the wetland ecosystem, that are integrated with existing math and science curricula. For example, a predator/prey simulation uses math concepts of graphing and averaging. United States Steel, students and teachers, community members, and local merchants have all contributed time, labor, and funding to enhance the existing wetland and add a trail and pavilion. This program served as one of the models for WHC’s Corporate Lands for Learning program, which partners corporations with neighboring school districts to meet local environmental education needs. A Special Thank You to United States Steel
As a founding member of WHC, U.S. Steel has been a strong supporter of the Wildlife Habitat Council's programs over the past eleven years. Eight of U.S. Steel’s facilities have implemented voluntary habitat enhancement programs, and six of these have been recognized through WHC’s Corporate Wildlife Habitat Certification/International Accreditation Program. Dr. Charles Carson III, Vice President of Environmental Affairs, was named Chairman of the Board of WHC in 1998, and has served as chair of the Three Rivers Habitat Partnership (TRHP) since its inception. Dr. Carson also donated office space within the Environmental Affairs and Public Affairs department to house the Pittsburgh Regional Office for over 3 years. Without his support, TRHP would not have been possible. Thank you.
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