Western PA Conservancy Adds 23 Acres To Old-Growth Tryon-Weber Woods Natural Area In Crawford County

The Western Pennsylvania Conservancy recently announced the protection of 23 acres of land in Sadsbury Township, Crawford County. The land is now a new addition to the Conservancy’s Tryon-Weber Woods Natural Area.

The newly protected property, located across Grieser Road from the Tryon-Weber Woods Natural Area parking lot, is forested and hosts vernal pools, which are seasonal wetlands that provide habitat for plants and animals. 

This property will be managed as part of the natural area and is located near other conserved lands in the region.

The now 131-acre Tryon-Weber Woods Natural Area is open to the public for hiking, wildlife watching, exploring and hunting in the Shenango River watershed. 

First protected by the Conservancy in 1976, this natural area consists primarily of upland forest and a small stream valley with hillsides flecked with trillium, violets, bellwort and wild geranium in the spring. 

It also hosts a mature beech-sugar maple forest with a 40-acre stand where some trees are more than 120 years old. 

This forest has been recognized as exemplary by the Old-Growth Forest Network.

For years, students from the University of Pittsburgh’s Pymatuning Laboratory of Ecology have been using the natural area for a variety of research projects, including learning about the effects of deer browsing on forest health.

“We are pleased to be able to add this property to this old-growth natural area, a wonderful place for visiting and hiking,” said Tom Saunders, president and CEO of the Conservancy. “Adding more land to this area not only improves recreation amenities in Crawford County, but also helps support biodiversity and habitat protection and connectivity in the face of climate change.”

Bequests from Conservancy donors funded the purchase of this property.

Click Here for the 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 Article:

-- DCNR’s Erie Bluffs State Park Inducted Into National Old-Growth Forest Network  [PaEN]

[Posted: November 2, 2024]  PA Environment Digest