Westmoreland Trust Aquires 105 Acres Of Open Space

More than 105 acres of open space in Westmoreland County will be preserved, thanks to the Westmoreland Land Trust.

“This is an exciting start to our efforts to conserve land of special value in Westmoreland County,” said Charles Duritsa, chair of Westmoreland Land Trust, which is focusing its efforts on retaining the rural character of Westmoreland County.

“In public meetings all across this county several years ago, the number one desire citizens expressed was to keep open space open,” Duritsa said. To help make that desire a reality, the Westmoreland Land Trust was formed in December of 2007.

The independent, non-profit organization's goal is to conserve land that provides scenic, recreational, environmental, historical, or cultural benefits for the citizens of Westmoreland County. The trust places special emphasis on land located within the county’s “growth triangle” – the geographic area roughly between New Kensington, Latrobe, and Monessen.

According to the Westmoreland County Department of Planning, 77 percent of the land subdivided into lots for development during 2003-2005 was in this area of the county. All of the properties being acquired by the land trust to-date are in this growth triangle.

One of the four properties in the trust’s first acquisition – the Ackermann property in North Huntingdon -- was suggested by local citizens who attended public meetings held by the trust last summer in communities throughout the county.

The other three acquired properties were suggested by Westmoreland Land Trust board members, who represent a mix of grassroots conservation organizations such as the Westmoreland Agricultural Land Preservation Program and Westmoreland Conservation District, economic development groups such as the North Huntingdon Planning Commission and the Smart Growth Partnership, recreation organizations such as the Westmoreland County Bureau of Parks and Recreation, and interested citizens.

Properties were evaluated against a number of criteria that include the way in which nearby properties are being used, the pressure for development, special natural features of the property, and the proper ty’s long-term stewardship needs.

Following is more detail on each of the four initial acquisitions.

The 59-acre Ackermann Nature Preserve near Ardara, North Huntingdon Township, is mostly wooded, with existing primitive trails, a creek, and a long history of use by nature lovers, thanks to the previous owners who have allowed the public to enjoy it for a number of years.

“This property was purchased in 1937 by Otto and Magdalene Ackermann and it has been in the family ever since,” Duritsa explained. “Now that the second-generation heirs are getting up in age, they wanted to do something to insure that the property would remain as a natural area for the public to enjoy in perpetuity. Their answer was to put it in the care of the Westmoreland Land Trust.”

This property is retaining its current name “The Otto and Magdalene Ackermann Nature Preserve.”

The 22-acre Murrysville property is the former Skena family farmstead, located on North Hills Road. It is now primarily young woodlands and features a small pond, which is the headwaters of a stream that runs through the adjacent 56-acre Lillian Kellman Nature Reserve, a public open space property owned by the Municipality of Murrysville.

“This property is significant because it is a rare, remaining piece of open space in the most densely populated area of Murrysville,” Duritsa said. “Because it also is next to the Kellman Reserve, it allows us to create a larger, continuous area of open space.”

This property is being named the “Peter and Victoria Skena Nature Reserve.”

The 21-acre Rostraver Township property is steep woodlands along the Youghiogheny River and the Great Allegheny Passage, connecting to Cedar Creek Park.

“This property is important because it enhances an already established recreation area and riverfront,” Duritsa said. “It also features an interesting rock formation, caused by the weathering of a sandstone outcrop, that can be seen from the bike trail.”

This property is being named the “Budd Parcel at Cedar Creek Park” in recognition of the landowner who sold the property for preservation, Mrs. Edna Budd.

The 3.5-acre parcel in the City of Greensburg, donated by Trinity Commercial Development, LLC, is a mature wooded tract situated next to the new Rite Aid pharmacy on North Main Street and other, similarly wooded parcels.

“We were interested in this property because it provides scenic relief in an urban area and because there are several other wooded parcels around it, which combine to create a significant open space,” Duritsa explained.

This property is being named the “Cabin Hill” parcel, a reference to its location near Cabin Hill Drive.

All of the properties being acquired will be maintained as open space and will be open to the public for a variety of low-impact kinds o f uses – from hiking to bird-watching; photography to botanizing. The Ackermann property is open immediately for the pubic to enjoy in these ways.

The properties in the City of Greensburg and Murrysville require some gentle stewardship to make them accessible, and will be officially opened in the not-too-distant future. The property in Rostraver, with its steep slopes, lends itself more to visual enjoyment than to hiking or other such activities.

Funds for the purchase of these initial properties were allocated by the Westmoreland County Commissioners as one of 21 separate conservation projects in Westmoreland County funded under the state’s 2005 Growing Greener II County Environmental Initiative.

The $363,000 allotment was disbursed through the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, which required that the trust provide an equal match for these funds. The appraised values of the Ackerman property and the property in the City of Greensburg – both of which were donated to the trust – serve as this match.

The trust purchased the Rostraver Township property outright. The trust partnered with the Municipality of Murrysville and Gerald and Audrey McGinnis to purchase the Skena property on North Hills Road in Murrysville.

Because DCNR further requires land trusts to be in existence for five years before they can hold properties acquired with DCNR funds, Westmoreland County will hold the Ackermann property, the property in Rostraver Township, and the Cabin Hill parcel in the City of Greensburg until the trust reaches that anniversary milestone in 2012. At that time, it is the intent that the ownership of these properties will be transferred to the Westmoreland Land Trust.

This ownership restriction applies to properties purchased with or used as a match for DCNR funds only. The trust can immediately assume possession of any properties that are purchased with resources from other sources, or that are donated.

The Peter and Victoria Skena Nature Reserve property in Murrysville will be owned and maintained by the Municipality of Murrysville.

Speakers at the “Ground-saving Event“ included Charles Duritsa, Westmoreland Land Trust chair; Westmoreland County Commission Chairman Tom Balya; Tracy Stack, environmental planner with the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources; David Herold, president of the North Huntingdon Township Board of Commissioners; and property donor Mechtild Ackermann Grapes.