On April 23, The Nature Conservancy in Pennsylvania and Delaware is pleased to announce that it has acquired 232 acres of forestland in Letterkenny Township, Franklin County with financial assistance from the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources through the Keystone Recreation, Park and Conservation Fund.

The property will be transferred to the Bureau of Forestry and become part of the Buchanan State Forest.

The land lies on the northwest facing slope of Little Mountain with views of Horse Valley. The property fills a gap in publicly-owned lands directly between State Game Lands #235 and Buchanan State Forest, permanently protecting more of the forested headwaters of the Conodoguinet Creek.

“The conservation of this property will help maintain the working forest landscape found in the southwest portion of the Kittatinny Ridge,” says Mari-Beth DeLucia, Kittatinny Ridge program director. “This is a win for both people and nature.”

Pennsylvania’s 185-mile-long Kittatinny Ridge is part of an unbroken chain of forested mountains that form a vital link in the 1,500-mile-long Appalachian mountain range that stretches from Newfoundland to Alabama. 

The Kittatinny Ridge is a refuge and a corridor because it is unfragmented, with few major roads or developments. 

In Pennsylvania, this forested corridor allows wildlife to move north or south and has been identified as the most resilient landscape in the state for adapting to a changing climate.

For more information on programs, initiatives and other special events, visit the PA Chapter of The Nature Conservancy website.  Click Here to sign up for updates from TNC, Like them on Facebook, Follow them on Twitter and Join them on Instagram.  Click Here to become a member.

Related Articles:

Western PA Conservancy: Honoring Earth Day By Preserving An Historic Farm In Westmoreland County 

French & Pickering Creeks Conservation Trust Preserves 31 Acre Farm In Chester County

Op-Ed: 50th Earth Day: Time To Consider Wiser Course - We Are All Of This Earth And Dependent On It - Bernie McGurl, Lackawanna River Conservation Association

[Posted: April 23, 2020]

4/27/2020