The Western PA Conservancy partnered with landowners to protect 700 acres of forestland in Fayette County to be added to Forbes State Forest and 1,495 acres of forest in Elk County to be included in Moshannon State Forest.

Fayette County

There is more land for fishing, hiking and wildlife watching thanks to the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy’s permanent protection of a 735-acre property in North Union Township, Fayette County that was immediately conveyed to the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources as an addition to Forbes State Forest.

The protection of this land also helps provide habitat connectivity, an important consideration to ensure that plant and animal species have pathways, through connected habitats and landscapes, to move to more temperate and tolerable environments as the climate changes.

Two globally significant Pennsylvania Natural Heritage Areas, Jumonville and Chestnut Ridge South of Lick Run, are located north and south of the property. These areas ensure special protection for the habitats of rare or threatened species.

At more than 60,000 acres in Fayette, Somerset and Westmoreland counties, Forbes spreads across the high ridges of the Laurel Highlands, including the 3,213-ft. Mt. Davis, which is the highest point in Pennsylvania.

Along with nearby State Game Lands #51, this newly protected land expands public outdoor recreation opportunities in Fayette County, including for more than 128,000 residents in the Uniontown community.

“This is a beautiful property that has so many conservation benefits,” says Tom Saunders, president and CEO of the Conservancy. “We’re glad to add another property to Forbes State Forest. We hope many more people can enjoy that state forest as it’s one of our region’s most spectacular natural assets.”

Conservation of this forestland was made possible thanks to funding and grants from the DCNR Bureau of State Forestry and DCNR Bureau of Recreation and Conservation.

This property continues the Conservancy’s role of protecting lands along Chestnut Ridge in the Laurel Highlands.

Since the 1960s, the Conservancy has protected more than 83,000 acres of open space in the Laurel Highlands, most of it turned over to the state to establish and manage parks, game lands and wild areas.

“The permanent protection of this 735-acre property is tremendous news for Fayette County and southwestern Pennsylvania,” says DCNR Secretary Cindy Adams Dunn. “We are proud to add this tract to Forbes State Forest and are excited for expanded public to outdoor recreation. More importantly, this helps protect wildlife habitat for plant and animal species that help make the Commonwealth a leader in the outdoors. Thank you to the Conservancy for supporting open space initiatives in the region.”

Elk County

The Western Pennsylvania Conservancy announced the permanent protection of a 1,495-acre forested property for hunting, fishing, hiking and other recreational opportunities in Benezette Township, Elk County.

The property was immediately transferred to the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources to become open to the public as a new addition to Moshannon State Forest, bolstering the region’s climate resilience.

WPC Protects Forestland in the PA Wilds for Moshannon State Forest This property, part of the Bennetts Valley area in the heart of Pennsylvania’s vast elk range in the Pennsylvania Wilds, includes a mix of hilltops, forested steep slopes and a significant riparian area along the Bennett Branch Sinnemahoning Creek.

 Johnson Run, classified by the Fish and Boat Commission as a Class A Wild Trout stream, flows through the property.

The property is also within one of the state’s largest blocks of unfragmented forest; large connected forests store large amounts of carbon and help combat the effects of climate change.

The Conservancy has been protecting and restoring land in the Bennett Branch corridor since 2008, with more than 8,300 acres protected in Bennetts Valley.

Bennetts Valley is an anchor area of the PA Wilds Conservation landscape, and is in the heart of Pennsylvania’s elk range and home of the Elk Country Visitor Center.

Many of these acquisitions have been conveyed to the state as additions to forests or game lands, however, the Conservancy continues to own the 1,465-acre Bennett Branch Forest for forest management, restoration and recreation, and the 24-acre Dr. Colson E. Blakeslee Memorial Recreation Area in Elk County, which hosts a mature floodplain forest and provides public access to the creek for fishing.

Plus the Conservancy’s watershed conservation program has done large-scale abandoned mine drainage work on Cherry Run, a tributary to Bennett Branch.

“This is a wonderful and key addition to Bennetts Valley, a landscape that has been a priority for the Conservancy for more than a decade, and such a beautiful destination area within the PA Wilds,” says Tom Saunders, president and CEO of the Conservancy. “This further continues our mission to protect land in Bennett Branch Valley to support recreation, improve water quality or water sources, and safeguard habitat for elk and other native wildlife.”

Through the Appalachian Landscapes Protection Fund, the Open Space Institute provides capital grants to conservation projects within the globally important Appalachian region that address both the biodiversity crisis and climate change.

“OSI is proud to have contributed to protecting this vital property,” says Bill Rawlyk, OSI’s Mid-Atlantic senior program manager.

“Beyond this land’s many attributes for recreation and biodiversity, conservation of the property will mitigate the impacts of climate change. Its complex landscapes and microclimates support diverse habitats that allow the movement of plant and animal species in response to a changing climate. Managed as part of Moshannon State Forest’s large, intact natural landscape, the forest will store carbon into the future, offsetting and moderating carbon emissions from human activities,” Rawlyk adds.

Since 1983, the Conservancy has acquired and transferred more than 5,000 acres to DCNR for Moshannon State Forest.

Conservation of this forestland was made possible thanks to grants from DCNR Bureau of Forestry and through OSI’s Appalachian Landscapes Protection Fund, which supports the protection of climate-resilient lands for wildlife and communities.

This fund is made possible with a lead grant from the Doris Duke Foundation and with significant support from the Lyndhurst Foundation, Richard King Mellon Foundation, William Penn Foundation, Riverview Foundation, Tucker Foundation, Lookout Foundation, Footprint Foundation, as well as other foundations and individuals who understand the critical role that land protection plays in addressing the threats of climate change.

For more information about conservation options to protect land, please contact the Conservancy at 412-288-2777 or land@paconserve.org.

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.

The Conservancy has helped to establish 11 state parks, conserved more than 250,000 acres of natural lands and protected or restored more than 3,000 miles of rivers and streams, maintains 132 community gardens and other green spaces that are planted with the help of more than 11,000 volunteers and the support of more than 9,000 members.

[Posted: September 3, 2024]

9/9/2024