The property is now under a conservation easement with Natural Lands that will forever protect the forest and streams, and the wildlife that call these places home.
Ridge Farm is 90 percent wooded with mature conifers and hardwood trees.
The dense forest provides essential habitat for songbirds and other wildlife and helps to filter rainwater before it flows into the more than 7,000 feet of Standing Stone Creek that, along with Geiser Run tributary, meanders through the property.
Classified by the Department of Environmental Protection as a high-quality, cold-water stream, the creek is part of the Juniata River Watershed, which provides recreation and clean drinking water to millions of people.
“This conservation easement is the culmination of more than two years of working with the landowners and our partners, Clearwater Conservancy, and Open Space Institute,” said Todd Sampsell, Natural Lands’ vice president of conservation. "As the climate crisis intensifies, with rising temperatures and stronger storms, protecting open space is essential to improving climate resilience and reducing flooding.” Added Sampsell, “We applaud the Wojdylak family for choosing conservation.”
The property is located between Rothrock State Forest to the southeast and The Pennsylvania State University’s Experimental Forest (also called Stone Valley Recreation Area) to the northwest.
Contiguous forest cover is essential habitat for songbirds like Scarlet Tanager, Wood Thrush, and several species of warblers that spend winters in warmer climes but breed in our region’s forests.
Many of these migrant species have declined because the woods they rely on for food and shelter are disappearing or being subdivided.
Forests that are fragmented into smaller plots by roads and developments favor predators that thrive along the edge of the woods, such as raccoons, snakes, Blue Jays, domestic cats, and Brown-headed Cowbirds.
Said landowner Steve Wojdylak, “My wife and I both feel that Ridge Farm has been heaven-on-earth for our family and friends and needs to be preserved. Thanks to Natural Lands for all your help.”
“ClearWater Conservancy was excited to collaborate with Natural Lands and the Wojdylak family to preserve this beautiful property in perpetuity,” said Elizabeth Crisfield, executive director of ClearWater Conservancy. “Maintaining habitat connectivity through forested ridgelines is an important contribution to climate resilience in central Pennsylvania, facilitating natural dispersal of native plants and animals. We look forward to continuing to work with the Wojdylaks and others in Huntingdon County.”
The project was supported through the Open Space Institute’s Appalachian Landscapes Protection Fund (ALPF), which supports the protection of climate resilient lands for wildlife and communities.
The ALPF is made possible with a lead grant from the Doris Duke Foundation and with significant support from the Lyndhurst Foundation, the Richard King Mellon Foundation, Riverview Foundation, Tucker Foundation, Lookout Foundation, Footprint Foundation, Anonymous Foundation (2), as well as other foundations and individuals who understand the critical role that land protection plays in addressing the threats of climate change.
Visit the Natural Lands and ClearWater Conservancy websites to learn more about natural resource conservation.
[Posted: November 25, 2024] PA Environment Digest
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