The land has been added to the now 400-acre South Branch French Creek Conservation Area, one of the Conservancy\u2019s 45 nature preserves.<\/p>\n
This property is a mix of forest, wetlands and swamps, and offers approximately a half mile of frontage along the creek and an unnamed tributary.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The property is about one mile upstream from the South Branch French Creek\u2013Lilley Run Natural Heritage Area<\/a> where vulnerable species, including 12 species of birds, brook trout and Baltimore checkerspot butterfly, have been or are likely to be found.<\/p>\n The South Branch French Creek Conservation Area, which opened to the public in 2018, features a diverse mix of habitats including forest, creek frontage, wetlands, vernal pools and former agricultural fields.\u00a0<\/p>\n The extensive forest features hard maple, soft maple, beech, cherry and large, old-growth hemlocks.\u00a0<\/p>\n Located 2.5 miles from Union City, the area is open to visitors to enjoy nature through hiking, birding, wildlife watching, hunting and fishing.\u00a0<\/p>\n This newly protected 164-acre property is nearby, but not contiguous to the existing 236-acre area.<\/p>\n \u201cProtecting French Creek and its tributaries continues to be of great importance to the Conservancy. We\u2019re glad to have the opportunity to protect this property that increases aquatic habitat and improves the water quality of creeks and streams in this important watershed,\u201d says Tom Saunders, president and CEO of the Conservancy.<\/p>\n South Branch French Creek is a major tributary to French Creek. French Creek is known as the most biologically diverse stream of its size in Pennsylvania and the northeastern United States, making its protection all the more important.\u00a0<\/p>\n To date, the Conservancy has protected more than 6,000 acres within the 1,250 square mile French Creek watershed, starting with Conservancy\u2019s Wattsburg Fen Natural Area in 1969.<\/p>\n The acquisition of this property was made possible thanks to funding from Colcom Foundation, the Richard King Mellon Foundation, and a gift and two bequests from private donors.<\/p>\n For more information about conservation options to protect land in Western Pennsylvania, please contact the Conservancy at 412-288-2777 or land@paconserve.org<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n Click Here for the Conservancy announcement<\/a>.<\/p>\n