The Western Pennsylvania Conservancy recently protected a total of 490 acres in 4  different transactions in Allegheny, Cameron, Fayette, Mercer and Somerset counties.

Allegheny County

WPC recently added 52 acres to the Toms Run Nature Reserve in Kilbuck Township. Allegheny County bringing the total acreage to 369.

The addition protects a large forested slope above Toms Run, a tributary to the Ohio River, and keeps the forest intact along the road leading from Rt. 65 to the reserve’s trailhead. The newly conserved area is part of the former Dixmont State Hospital property, which closed in 1984.

Located in western Allegheny County near I-79 and Route 65, Toms Run Nature Reserve has been protected by the Conservancy since 1977 and is open to the public for hiking, nature watching, hunting and birding.

The reserve includes large stands of mature maple, oak and American beech trees and is one of the largest remaining undeveloped forested areas in the county. Toms Run, which flows along the preserve’s eastern border, is the largest of several streams on the reserve.

Over the past decade, the Conservancy has made improvements to enhance outdoor recreation options and help restore the forest and streams on the reserve.

Those efforts, strengthened by Conservancy members and volunteers, included demolishing dilapidated buildings, capping abandoned oil and gas wells, and limiting the use of ATVs and dirt bikes.

Local residents and Pittsburgh-area school students have increasingly been using the property for recreation and learning in recent years.

With donations from individuals and state grants now in hand, the Conservancy will soon provide a new 2.5-mile trail loop, which will contain an ADA-accessible path, and an expanded parking lot to accommodate school buses and additional parking.

These improvements, along with the installation of trail and educational signs, are expected to conclude in late 2019.

“Toms Run is a special property for the Conservancy,” said Tom Saunders, president and CEO of the Conservancy. “We are glad to protect this forested landscape and stream in such an otherwise developed area. It’s in a good location for hiking and exploring, and is accessible to so many people in the Pittsburgh region. We are looking forward to the new trails being planned now to open next year.”

Before exploring Toms Run Nature Reserve, visitors are encouraged to first contact the Conservancy for parking and access information due to upcoming trail-construction activities.

For additional information about the reserve or volunteer opportunities to help restore it, contact the Conservancy at 412-586-2318 or send email to: azadnik@paconserve.org.

Cameron County

Joseph Wolfgang has ensured that his 110-acre property in Cameron County will remain permanently forested by donating a conservation easement to the Western PA Conservancy.

The Shippen Township property is contiguous to Elk State Forest to the northwest and has steep forested slopes along Hart Run, a high-quality tributary to West Creek.

The southern portion includes additional riparian frontage along West Creek, a major tributary to Driftwood Branch Sinnemahoning Creek.

The West Creek Recreational Trail, a popular rail-to-trail that extends from the communities of Emporium and St. Marys, traverses the property. Hart Run and West Creek are classified by the Department of Environmental Protection as High Quality Cold Water Fisheries.

Wolfgang, a lifelong advocate of nature and conservation, says that he and his wife Miranda feel that protecting this property in perpetuity is the right thing to do for themselves and all residents of Northcentral Pennsylvania.

Through this easement, Wolfgang will continue owning his land while permanently limiting land uses and development in order to protect the land’s conservation values.

“I’ve always been concerned about air and water quality issues, and finding ways to improve the environment and reduce pollutants going into our waterways and groundwater,” he said. “So, I see this as my way of improving the health of local residents and nature.”

Hosting mixed hardwoods of mostly oak and maple with some birch, beech and hemlocks, the property provides scenic views of forestland from the Bucktail Scenic Byway, PA Rt. 120.

This easement will not only provide viewshed protection, but keeps the forest intact so it will eventually become old-growth woodlands.

“This is a wonderful property that lies within a priority forest landscape area for the Conservancy,” said Tom Saunders, president and CEO of the Conservancy. “The amazing landscape in this area of the state, with its deep forests, wild streams, steep hills and big views, is part of what makes our state so extraordinary. We appreciate the Wolfgang family for wanting to protect their land through this generous donation of a conservation easement, which will allow the land to stay in private ownership but will protect it from development in the future, and accomplishes their intent for this beautiful property.”

The Conservancy welcomes inquiries from landowners interested in learning more about donating conservation easements or other conservation options. For more information, please contact WPC at 412-288-2777 or send email to: info@paconserve.org.

Fayette, Somerset Counties

WPC recently protected 281 acres in Somerset and Fayette counties near the summit of Laurel Ridge and many popular Laurel Highlands outdoor recreational destinations.

The land will be transferred to the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources Bureau of State Parks as an addition to Laurel Ridge State Park this year.

This scenic land shares its northern border with Laurel Ridge State Park and State Game Lands 111 at its southeastern corner, connecting the region’s public lands and expanding recreation opportunities.

The 70.5-mile Laurel Highlands Hiking Trail, Forbes State Forest and Bear Run Nature Reserve are all within close proximity to this land.

In addition, this 281-acre acquisition protects buffers around Sandy Run, a High Quality Coldwater stream that flows into Laurel Hill Creek. Sandy Run supports a range of important aquatic species, including naturally reproducing trout, shellfish, hellbender salamanders, macroinvertebrates and many other aquatic species.

“This is another wonderful addition to the protection of lands in the Laurel Hill Creek watershed and Pennsylvania’s state parks,” said Tom Saunders, president and CEO of the Conservancy. “This project expands the Conservancy’s historic acquisitions that led to the creation of Laurel Ridge State Park in the late 1960s.”

In 1969, the Conservancy protected and conveyed more than 11,000 acres to become Laurel Ridge State Park.

Today, the 13,625-acre state park is home to portions of the popular 70-mile Laurel Highlands Hiking Trail, which the Conservancy helped establish. Acquisition of this land also protects undeveloped land surrounding the hiking trail corridor.

The purchase of this property was made possible through the generosity of the family of B. Kenneth Simon, with additional support from the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources.

Mercer County

On January 3, the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy announced it has permanently protected a 47-acre farm in Findley Township, Mercer County.

As a result of this action, the farm will soon be available for lease to local farmers to grow crops or raise livestock as part of the Conservancy’s program to help support the local food economy by making land more accessible to local farmers.

The demand for locally grown food, coupled with rising interest in organic food and sustainable farming operations, continues to increase in the Pittsburgh region. To meet these demands, farmers need agricultural land in close proximity to local restaurants, farmers markets and food distributors.

This newly acquired farm, located just an hour north of Pittsburgh off of I-79, is the first of several new farm properties the Conservancy is working to acquire and then lease to farmers for diverse, small-scale agricultural operations.

Leasing programs provide successful options near urban areas where high land prices make it challenging for farmers, particularly those who are new to the industry, to acquire land.

“We want to help address the challenge of land access and make affordable farmland available to farmers who want to grow local foods for the Pittsburgh food market, said Tom Saunders, president and CEO of the Conservancy. It’s a nice bridge between two goals: the Conservancy protects open space, including farmland, and with this program we can also help local farmers wanting to provide fresh, local foods to our markets here in Pittsburgh.”

The Conservancy already has an established model for its new initiative. At its 394-acre Plain Grove Fens Natural Area in Lawrence County, WPC leases 57 acres to Fallen Aspen Farm, a grower of livestock and produce for the Pittsburgh market.

The farm, in operation since October 2014, distributes products through direct sales, including scheduled farm pick-ups and city deliveries.

Jake Kristophel, who co-owns Fallen Aspen Farm with his wife Desiree, grew up with a farming ethic but admits they weren’t ready for all of the demands and challenges of starting out in the industry.

“Purchasing land and equipment to operate a farm are among the biggest financial challenges most new farmers will face,” said Kristophel. “The option to lease land made farming more attractive and affordable for us, and leasing continues to be the right choice for our small business.”

Saunders says other land trusts around the country also are combining land protection goals and helping farmers by allowing them access to affordable farmland.

“Conservation organizations across the country with established leasing programs are serving a variety of different roles to support their local food industries,” he said. “Through this proactive effort, we believe we can partner with other organizations and support existing local efforts while protecting the ecological significance and agrarian heritage of our region’s lands.”

Interested Farmers

Farmers interested in leasing acres of the farm in Mercer County should contact the Conservancy at 412-288-2777 or send an email to: land@paconserve.org for more information.  Click Here for a downloadable map of the property.

The Western Pennsylvania Conservancy is a nonprofit conservation organization and is accepting donations of land for its Farmland Access Initiative.

Landowners wishing to donate land suitable for organic farming within an hour of the Pittsburgh region are encouraged to also call the Conservancy at 412-288-2777 for more information regarding conservation options.

Funding for WPC’s Farmland Access Initiative is made possible by the generosity of the Henry L. Hillman Foundation and an anonymous donor.

More information is available on programs, initiatives and special events at the Western PA Conservancy website.  Click Here to sign up for regular updates from the Conservancy, Like them on Facebook, Follow them on Twitter, join them on Instagram, visit the Conservancy’s YouTube Channel or add them to your network on Linkedin.  Click Here to support their work.

CFA Accepting Applications

The Commonwealth Financing Authority will accept applications from February 1 to May 31 for Act 13 Greenways and Trail Grants.  Click Here for more.

New DCNR Grant Round

Learn more about grant opportunities to support riparian buffer, trail and recreation projects, visit DCNR’s Community Conservation Grant Program webpage. A new grant round is opening January 22 and will close April 10.  Click Here for more.

(Photo: Toms Run Nature Reserve, Allegheny County.)

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[Posted: Jan. 4, 2019]

1/7/2019