In June 2024, Berks Nature established a new conservation easement with the Fleetwood Borough to protect 190 acres of woodlands, adding yet another valuable safeguard to the Oley Hills’ pristine waterways and the local community’s drinking water.

The rough and rolling topography of the Oley Hills are an extraordinary regional treasure: recognized as a conservation focal area within the Pennsylvania Highlands Region for its exceptional natural, recreational, and cultural resources and warden to six Exceptional Value waterways: the region’s most valuable watersheds.

Oley’s forested wetlands too – a habitat in decline across the United States – play a valuable role as water purifiers, flood defenders, and as wildlife nurseries and homes.

The Fleetwood Borough’s recent conservation easement – 190 acres of wooded wetlands and mixed hardwood forest – is the most recent addition to a growing network of protection across the Oley Hills.

From the woodland’s natural springs and wetlands, the headwaters of the Willow Creek (a tributary to Maiden Creek) originate.

So clean and abundant are these springs that the property has supplied the Fleetwood Borough with drinking water since 1909, earning the property its name: the Fleetwood Reservoir Woodland.

The newly placed easement will preserve the integrity of this woodland, and its ability to support cool, clean drinking water to its downstream neighbors, in perpetuity.

The now protected Fleetwood Reservoir Woodlands are also a testament to the deeply rooted conservation ethic of the Oley Hills community and the power of a people united by purpose.

Since 1989, Berks Nature has helped place nearly 3,400 acres of the Oley Hills under conservation easements, forever protecting the intrinsic natural value of this land.

Funds to purchase the Fleetwood Reservoir Woodlands easement were provided through the PA Department of Conservation and Natural Resources’ Community Conservation Partnership Program (C2P2).

For more information on programs, initiatives, upcoming events and how you can get involved, visit the Berks Nature website.  Follow them on Facebook and Twitter.  Also follow the Berks Nature Ambassadors Facebook page.

Since 1974, Berks Nature has been involved in land preservation, water protection, trail management, community gardens, education programs, State of the Environment, Eco-Camp and our valued partnerships that help connect people to nature and maintain the natural beauty of Berks County.

(Reprinted from WeConservePA website.)

Related Articles:

-- DCNR Designates New Umbrella Magnolia Groves Wild Plant Sanctuary In York County  [PaEN]

-- Natural Lands Partners With Landowner Michael Kaczenski To Protect 252 Acres Of Forest Land In Carbon County  [PaEN]

-- WeConservePA: Berks Nature Partnered With Fleetwood Borough To Increase Protection For Local Drinking Water Under New Fleetwood Reservoir Woodland Conservation Easement Covering 190 Acres  [PaEN]

-- WeConservePA: Berks Nature Partners With Landowner Kevin Stein To Protect 139+ Acres In The Kittatinny Ridge Landscape  [PaEN]

-- WeConservePA: ClearWater Conservancy Partners With Diane Albright To Protect 95-Acre Woodland As Part Of Beaver Branch Gorge Biological Diversity Area In Centre County  [PaEN]

-- WeConservePA: French & Pickering Creeks Conservation Trust Protects 4.6 More Acres In West vincent Twp., Chester County 

-- DCNR Virtual Grant Workshop For Recreation, Conservation Projects Set For Nov. 7  [PaEN]

-- DCNR: Aug. 14 Trails Advisory Committee Forum Mercer County; DCNR Seeks Survey Input From Trail Managers, Providers On Land/Water Trail Plan  [PaEN]

-- Penn State Extension Begins 10-Part Pennsylvania Forests Online Seminar Series Sept. 10  [PaEN]

-- Penn State Extension - Woods & Wildlife News: Integrated Forest Management; Invasion Ecology; Preventing Feral Hog Invasions; Woodland Steward Series; Forest Farming - Ginseng

NewsClips:

-- Chesapeake Bay Journal - Ad Crable: A New Plan For Pennsylvania Forests - New Uses, More Trails, Continued Logging

-- Scranton Times Quills Blog: Plant Trees For Free In Pennsylvania

-- Warren Times - Josh Cotton: Seldom Seen Mushroom Found Near Kinzua Dam

[Posted: July 25, 2024]

7/29/2024