Western PA Conservancy Protects 171 Acres In French Creek Watershed, Crawford County

The Western PA Conservancy Thursday announced a forested property located in Hayfield and Vernon townships, Crawford County was permanently protected and became available for recreational use.

This 171-acre property, which protects ecologically important land in the French Creek watershed, contains more than 5,600 feet of frontage along the Cussewago Creek. Cussewago Creek is a major tributary to French Creek, which is within the headwaters of the Allegheny River.

The property is among the remaining larger undeveloped properties in the French Creek Watershed, an important PA Natural Heritage Area known for its aquatic biodiversity and a longtime priority conservation area for the Conservancy.

Located within Pennsylvania Audubon Society’s Cussewago Bottom Important Bird Area, the property includes an intact forest, wetlands and marshes, which are all important for further protection of the region’s migrating bird populations and species associated with mature and early-successional forest types.

“This is an important property to protect within the French Creek watershed, and a great addition to a Conservancy-owned natural area,” said Thomas Saunders, president and CEO of the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy. “We will continue working with our partners in the region to protect land along French Creek and its tributaries. We’re excited about expanding this natural area that the Conservancy owns and makes available for hiking, birdwatching and exploring its woods and wetlands.”

This land has been added to the Conservancy’s Helen B. Katz Natural Area, which is open to the public for hunting, fishing, hiking, birding and other wildlife watching. The natural area now totals 552 acres.

This property was acquired with funds from the estate of Helen B. Katz, whose 2008 legacy gift has allowed the Conservancy to permanently protect more than 20 properties in the region totaling more than 4,700 acres.

The Conservancy has protected approximately 4,800 acres of land within the 1,250-square-mile French Creek watershed since 1969, and a total of more than a quarter million acres across the region since its establishment in 1932.

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, add them to your Circle on Google+, join them on Instagram, visit the Conservancy’s YouTube Channel or add them to your network on Linkedin.

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Western PA Conservancy Buys 170 Acres In Crawford County