The Western Pennsylvania Conservancy has sold 207 acres in Venango County to Fisherman’s Cove Preservation Foundation, an organization formed to protect the Allegheny River watershed.

Conditions of the sales agreement ensure the permanent protection of this property, which has both conservation and archaeological significance. The land will be open for public recreational use.

“The Western Pennsylvania Conservancy is very pleased to sell this property to the Fisherman’s Cove Preservation Foundation, which shares our conservation goals for this natural, scenic and historic property,” said WPC President and CEO Tom Saunders. FCPF President Cathy Kentzel added, “This acquisition and partnership with WPC forms the cornerstone of our organization’s efforts to preserve the natural and historic legacy of the region.”

WPC sold the parcel for less than its market value in order to enable its purchase by Fisherman’s Cove Preservation Foundation. Purchased by WPC from Robert and Rachel Kerr between 1973 and 1976, the property consists of a wooded plateau and a steep, tree-covered hillside facing the Allegheny River and Sandy Creek. It includes approximately 50 acres of level river frontage.

The property is bounded by Sandy Creek and private lands on the west and north and on the east by the Allegheny River. Archaeological and historical studies of the property show that it was intermittently used over the past 9,000 years by the region’s indigenous American Indian populations as well as by early settlers and their descendents.

Dr. Sue Ann Curtis, an FCPF director and expert on the region’s cultural history, said, “The property provides an important record of economic, social and political change in the region over time and the adaptations made by its indigenous peoples and subsequent settlement by frontier pioneers and their successors. Preservation of this record is a key mission of the Fisherman’s Cove Preservation Foundation.”

WPC and the Archaeological Conservancy, a national non-profit organization dedicated to acquiring and preserving the nation's best remaining archaeological sites, will act as co-holders of a conservation agreement on the 207-acre parcel that was jointly developed by the three conservation organizations.

Paul Gardner, The Archaeological Conservancy’s Midwest regional director, said, “The Kerr site is an intriguing late prehistoric occupation site that has seen little scientific investigation. The Archaeological Conservancy is happy to play a role in permanently protecting it for future generations of Pennsylvanians.”

The conservation agreement places permanent restrictions on this land, prohibiting subdivision as well as oil and gas exploration there. A conservation agreement, also called a conservation easement, is a commonly used, effective and legally binding means to protect natural and cultural resources for the benefit of future generations. WPC holds 145 conservation agreements, protecting more than 30,000 acres in Western Pennsylvania.

Plans for the Kerr Tract property include working with forestry and other specialists to restore the natural forest plant assemblage, creating habitat for indigenous animal species, protecting the riparian buffer, understanding and preserving the property’s culture-history, and using the property as an outdoor classroom to promote public awareness and understanding of the importance preserving the region’s great diversity.

2/1/2008