The Western Pennsylvania Conservancy added a 40-acre parcel to the David M. Roderick Wildlife Reserve in Erie County and 100 acres to Buchanan State Forest, resulting in better public access to the forest’s Sweet Root Natural Area, in Bedford County

Bedford County

The Western Pennsylvania Conservancy added about 100 acres to Buchanan State Forest, resulting in better public access to the forest’s Sweet Root Natural Area.

The land in southern Bedford County will be added to the Sweet Root Natural Area’s 1,400 acres, linking two separate pieces of the natural area: a smaller piece that contains parking, a picnic area and a trailhead and a larger area that contains remote land. Before the acquisition, hikers who started at the trailhead needed to cross private property to access the rest of the natural area.

“This parcel also will provide an important forested buffer for Sweet Root Natural Area’s 70-acre stand of old-growth hemlock, white pine and cove hardwoods,” said Conservancy President and Chief Executive Officer Thomas D. Saunders. “The protection of this property will result in the protection of valuable ecological resources.”

The parcel also sits along Sweet Root Creek, a headwaters tributary of Town Creek, which empties into the Potomac River.

The Conservancy acquired the Southampton Township parcel and will convey the land to the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, which manages Buchanan State Forest. DCNR also provided financial support for the acquisition.

Erie County

The Roderick Wildlife Reserve includes habitat, which sits within a bird conservation region, is notable for supporting several species of dragonflies.

The Erie County land is surrounded on all sides by the Roderick Wildlife Reserve – a reserve that the Conservancy helped acquire in 1991. The parcel falls within a Pennsylvania Important Bird Area, an international Bird Conservation Region, a priority Erie County Greenway and a Natural Heritage Area.

“WPC scientists and others have identified this parcel as being part of an important conservation area,” said Conservancy President and Chief Executive Officer Thomas D. Saunders. “The property is important because it not only is one of the last inholdings for the wildlife reserve, but also expands on previous property acquisitions nearby.”

WPC will convey the land to the Pennsylvania Game Commission, which manages the Roderick Reserve. The property will be open to the public for recreational purposes such as fishing, hiking and hunting.

The property contains an area of conservation concern, the Great Lakes Region Lakeplain Palustrine Forest, which includes about 15 acres of wetlands. This habitat supports species of concern such as Clinton’s wood fern, log fern and pumpkin ash – a large tree that grows in wet habitats – and two rare dragonflies, Cyrano darner and mocha emerald.

This Erie County acquisition was made possible through grants from the federal Great Lakes Restoration Initiative, Atlantic Coast Joint Venture Habitat Restoration and Protection Program and funding from the Game Commission. Additional support was provided by the Pennsylvania Sea Grant Program and the Lake Erie Region Conservancy.

3/11/2013