The Western Pennsylvania Conservancy recently announced the purchase of two properties, totaling 97 acres, in Stewart Township, Fayette County that will be added to popular outdoor recreation and natural areas in the Laurel Highlands.

WPC land protected for Bear Run Nature ReserveA 44-acre forested property located near State Route 381 consists of limestone outcrops along the steep Youghiogheny River Gorge and a mature forest canopy of sugar maple, basswood, oak and shagbark hickory.

The property is located within the Upper Lick Run Natural Heritage Area, which is an ecologically important area that hosts rare and sensitive plant and animal species, including the state-threatened West Virginia water shrew and Allegheny woodrat.

The property has been added to the Conservancy’s now 5,163-acre Bear Run Nature Reserve, an ecologically significant property that surrounds Frank Lloyd Wright’s Fallingwater and provides habitat for a diversity of forest-dwelling wildlife, including black bear, fisher, bobcat and more than 53 bird species.

Another forested property, totaling 53 acres, is now officially part of Ohiopyle State Park, which the Conservancy first purchased land in the 1950s that helped establish the park a decade later.

The Conservancy conveyed the newly acquired property to the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources in December 2024.

The property is adjacent to the Laurel Highlands Hiking Trail, a 70-mile mountainous trail that runs along Laurel Ridge in the Laurel Highlands, the property will protect the viewshed for hikers experiencing this section of the wilderness trail that runs through the state park, near Mile Marker 3.

The property hosts important habitat for threatened and sensitive bird and other wildlife species.

Both high-elevation properties are important for wildlife species’ resilience to climate change because they provide forested connectivity to large tracts of intact forestland, such as state forests, parks, and game lands, safeguard high-quality waterways and protect rare habitats.WPC land protected for Ohioplye State Park

“This project is a continuation of efforts by the Conservancy to further protect priority lands that have important conservation values, especially in recreational and ecological hot spots in our region such as the Laurel Highlands,” says Jane Menchyk, a Conservancy land protection manager for the region.

Conservation of these properties was made possible, thanks to grants from the Richard King Mellon Foundation, DCNR Bureau of Recreation and Conservation Community Conservation Partnership Program, and DCNR Bureau of State Parks.

To date, the Conservancy has permanently protected more than 83,000 acres of land in the Laurel Highlands.

For more information about land conservation options, please contact the Conservancy at 724-238-2492 or laurelhighlands@paconserve.org.

Click Here for the Conservancy announcement.

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.

Related Articles:

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-- ClearWater Conservancy Preserves 100 Acres Of Beaver Branch Property To Enhance Conservation Efforts In Centre County  [PaEN]

-- Western PA Conservancy Protects 97 Acres To Expand Popular Outdoor Recreation Areas In Fayette County  [PaEN]

-- WeConservePA: Lebanon Valley Conservancy Partnered With Brehm Family To Safeguard 78 Acre Farm In Union Twp., Lebanon County  [PaEN]

-- WeConservePA: Heritage Conservancy Preserves 60 Acres Of Land In Bucks County  [PaEN] 

-- Lancaster Conservancy Partners With Graham Family To Protect 56 Acres In York County  [PaEN]

-- French & Pickering Creeks Conservation Trust Partnered With Alleva Family To Preserve 20 Acres In Chester County  [PaEN]

[Posted: February 20, 2025]

2/24/2025