Sergeant Township – November 13, 2026 – The Western Pennsylvania Conservancy today announced it acquired a conservation easement from KN Forest Conservation, LLC, to permanently protect a 4,540-acre property in Sergeant Township, McKean County. With this acquisition, the Conservancy marks an important milestone in its 94-year history: The permanent protection of more than 300,000 acres of land in Western Pennsylvania.
“This milestone achievement reflects the Conservancy’s longstanding commitment to safeguarding the region’s forests, natural areas, biodiversity, ecological heritage and scenic character for future generations, providing open space and access to recreation for all,” says Conservancy President and CEO Thomas Saunders. “Land protection is one of the most important and permanent conservation actions we can take to ensure that forests can continue to grow, wildlife can thrive, and future generations can experience the same natural lands that inspire us today.”
Founded in 1932, the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy’s first on-the-ground conservation project took place in 1940 along Bigelow Boulevard in Pittsburgh, and its first land acquisition project to protect land for the future McConnells Mill State Park in Lawrence County began in 1945.
KN Forest Conservation Project Details:
This landmark conservation project in McKean County is a large, hilly, forested property with deep ravines in the Clarion River watershed. The property includes forested buffers along Fivemile Run and Sevenmile Run, both tributaries to the East Branch Clarion River and designated by the PA Department of Environmental Protection DEP as High Quality-Cold Water Fisheries.
The property also buffers Rocky Run, a tributary to the West Branch Clarion River. All three streams support the natural production of wild trout and are classified by the PA Fish and Boat Commission as Pennsylvania Wild Trout Waters.
A portion of the property’s eastern boundary is contiguous with Elk State Forest. Because of the large expanses of protected forestland nearby, the property is important for climate change connectivity. The property also has high climate-change resilience because of its varied topography, including a relatively large number of acres within riparian (streamside) zones.
WPC holds a conservation easement over the property to restrict future subdivision and development and ensure the property’s conservation values are protected in perpetuity. Conservation easements are a land protection option for landowners who want to keep owning their property while preserving its conservation values in perpetuity. The easement allows sustainable forestry operations to continue on the property. This forest provides a steady source of wood for the local forest product industry.
The conservation easement also requires that the property remains open to the public for non-motorized recreation, including hiking, birding, fishing, hunting, wildlife watching and bicycling. This newly protected land will continue to provide outdoor enthusiasts valuable opportunities for recreation, education and nature exploration.
Grants from Colcom Foundation and Hillman Foundation, and donations from member bequests and The Conservation Fund made conserving this land possible.
To date, the Conservancy has permanently protected 69,840 acres of land through conservation easements. For more information about conservation options for landowners or the Conservancy’s land conservation work, please contact the Conservancy at 412-288-2777 or [email protected].
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About the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy
The Western Pennsylvania Conservancy (WPC) enhances the region by protecting and restoring exceptional places. A private nonprofit conservation organization founded in 1932, WPC has helped establish 11 state parks, conserved more than 300,000 acres of natural lands, protected or restored more than 3,000 miles of rivers and streams, and assessed thousands of wildlife species and their habitats. The Conservancy owns and operates Frank Lloyd Wright’s Fallingwater, which is on the UNESCO World Heritage List and symbolizes people living in harmony with nature. In addition, WPC enriches our region’s cities and towns through 125 community gardens and other green spaces and thousands of trees that are planted with the help of more than 7,000 volunteers. The work of the Conservancy is accomplished through the support of more than 10,000 members. For more information, visit WaterLandLife.org or Fallingwater.org.
Media Contact:
Carmen Bray
Senior Director of Communications
412-586-2358
[email protected]