The Merrill Linn Conservancy has purchased 36 acres of ecologically significant land on Shikellamy Bluffs next to Shikellamy State Park in Union and Northumberland counties.

The property, previously owned by Richard and Miranda McGinnis of Lewisburg, was acquired as part of the conservancy’s “Linking Landscapes” initiative, which seeks to make connections between protected open spaces for the well-being of wildlife that live in our human-fragmented landscapes and to protect watersheds to maintain high-quality water resources.

The former McGinnis property is an area of multi-tiered native forests with a canopy of red oak, chestnut oak, American basswood, red maple, sugar maple and Virginia pine, among other natives.

The 360-foot shale cliffs on the east side of the property are home to two plant species of special concern and one bird species of special concern. The cliffs also offer breath-taking views of the confluence of the West Branch and the North Branch of the Susquehanna River.

The Shikellamy Bluffs transaction was financed through a grant from the Commonwealth Financing Authority and donations from philanthropic organizations, businesses and individual donors. The balance was covered by a loan from Mifflinburg Bank & Trust.

For more information on land conservation initiatives in the region, visit the Merrill Linn Conservancy website, call 570-524-8666 or send email to: linn@ptd.net.

(Reprinted from the December 2 Resource newsletter from DCNR.  Click Here to sign up for your own copy (bottom of the page).)

12/7/2015