Union Township, Pa. – May 6, 2019 – A 100-acre forested property that has significant frontage on Sideling Hill Creek and serves as a buffer for important habitat is now protected, the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy announced today.
The Conservancy recently acquired the property and added it to its now 356-acre Sideling Hill Creek Conservation Area in Bedford and Fulton counties. This conservation area is open to the public for fishing and hunting, and protects the unique shale barrens plant community, forests and several globally rare plants that are all found on this property. Shale barrens, which are steep, dry, open woodland habitats, are found in the Central Appalachian Mountains from Pennsylvania to Virginia.
The property also protects sections of Sideling Hill Creek, a tributary stream of the Potomac River that originates in Pennsylvania’s Southern Allegheny Mountains. The creek is home to populations of rare freshwater mussels.
“Protecting land to safeguard this unique and special area in our region is particularly important from a biodiversity and conservation perspective,” said Tom Saunders, president and CEO of the Conservancy. “This protection at Sideling Hill Creek furthers our commitment to helping the special places in our region remain natural and ecologically significant.”
The property was acquired through the generosity of private donors and with funding from the Hamer Foundation, Helen B. Katz Endowment, PA Department of Environmental Protection and National Fish and Wildlife Foundation.
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A photo and map of the property are available for media use courtesy of the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy: https://we.tl/t-KF8uREr75N.
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 to establish 11 state parks, conserved more than a quarter million acres of natural lands and protected or restored more than 3,000 miles of rivers and streams. The Conservancy owns and operates Fallingwater, which was donated to WPC in 1963 and symbolizes people living in harmony with nature. In addition, WPC enriches our region’s cities and towns through 132 community gardens and other green spaces that are planted with the help of more than 11,000 volunteers. The work of the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy is accomplished through the support of more than 9,000 members. For more information, visit WaterLandLife.org or Fallingwater.org.
Media Contact:
Carmen Bray
Director of Communications
412-586-2358
cbray@paconserve.org