On May 19, Department of Conservation and Natural Resources Secretary Cindy Adams Dunn visited White Clay Creek Preserve in Chester County to celebrate its forest heritage and induct it into the Old-Growth Forest Network.

“There aren’t many places the country where there is the opportunity to experience an old-growth forest with trees that have lived for hundreds of years,” Dunn said. “We are pleased that this designation calls attention to how special White Clay Creek is, to spotlight for the public the unique and exciting opportunities that we offer for outdoor recreation and experiencing nature in our state parks and forests.”

White Clay Creek Preserve contains a maturing forest with almost 700 known species of plants, including hickory, white ash, black walnut, tulip poplar, sycamore, and a variety of oaks.

This area was originally called Opasiskunk by the Lenni Lenape people.

The Old-Growth Forest Network is a national organization working to preserve ancient forests for the enjoyment of present and future generations. In counties capable of supporting forest growth the network identifies at least one forest that will be protected from logging and open to the public.

“Pennsylvania is one of the nation’s leaders in terms of identifying ancient forests that are open to the public and off limits to logging,” said Founder and Director of the Old-Growth Forest Network Joan Maloof. “We depend on a volunteer in each county to help us identify candidate forests. In addition to creating a network of forests, we are also creating a network of people who care about forests.”

White Clay Creek is the 129th addition to the network. Six sites total are being added in Pennsylvania this year.

The additional five sites in Pennsylvania are:

-- McConnells Mill State Park, Lawrence County;

-- Henry's Woods at Jacobsburg Environmental Education Center State Park, Northampton County;

-- Jakey Hollow Natural Area in Weiser State Forest, Columbia County;

-- World's End State Park, Sullivan County; and

-- Fallbrook Natural Area at Salt Springs State Park, Susquehanna County.

The 3,050-acre preserve in southern Chester County contains White Clay Creek, designated by Congress as a National Wild and Scenic River because of its outstanding scenic, wildlife, recreational, and cultural values.

The White Clay Creek Valley, which forms the core of the preserve, varies from steep to gradually falling terrain with some flat bottomlands, all drained by the creek. Large stands of black walnut are common in the floodplain areas.

White Clay Creek Preserve shares a boundary with White Clay Creek State Park in Delaware.

Find more information about White Clay Creek Preserve on the DCNR website, and about the Old-Growth Forest Network at its site.

For more information on state parks and forests and recreation in Pennsylvania, visit DCNR’s website, Click Here to sign up for the Resource newsletter, Visit the Good Natured DCNR Blog,  Click Here for upcoming events, Click Here to hook up with DCNR on other social media-- Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Flickr.

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[Posted: May 19, 2021]

5/24/2021