Cook Township – Dec. 1, 2017 – The Western Pennsylvania Conservancy announced today the sale of a 115-acre property in Ligonier Valley, Westmoreland County and its permanent protection through a conservation easement.
Located in Cook Township, the property includes a house, log cabin and a barn. The property also features important wildlife habitat, a mix of forest and farmland and 2,500 feet of frontage along Loyalhanna Creek. It is in close proximity to more than 3,000 acres of land in the upper Loyalhanna Creek watershed previously protected through other WPC conservation easements. The watershed, which drains the heavily forested slopes of Chestnut and Laurel ridges, contains several high-quality streams that support a variety of wildlife habitats.
A conservation easement is a legal agreement that restricts future subdivision and development on land. Since the 1970s, the Conservancy has permanently protected nearly 27,000 acres of land in the Ligonier Valley, of which more than 10,000 are through conservation easements.
“We are pleased to sell and protect this property that will add to the agrarian heritage, water quality, forests and open space in the Ligonier Valley – an exceptional natural and scenic area in our region,” said Conservancy President and CEO Thomas Saunders.
The Conservancy first acquired the property in late 2015 with financial support from the Richard King Mellon Foundation, Department of Environmental Protection Growing Greener funds and Katherine Mabis McKenna Foundation. It was listed for sale in March 2016 through the Conservancy’s Conservation Buyer Program.
The Conservancy works with willing landowners to protect land either through outright purchase or donation of land or conservation easements. WPC’s Conservation Buyer Program connects potential conservation-minded real estate buyers with sellers of protected properties. The program offers properties that have conservation and recreational benefits. Interested sellers or landowners should contact WPC’s land protection department at land@paconserve.org or 1-866-564-6972 for more information.
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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 to establish 10 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 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 about 12,000 volunteers. The work of the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy is accomplished through the support of more than 10,000 members. For more information, visit WaterLandLife.org or Fallingwater.org.
Media contact:
Kristen Blevins
Communications Specialist
412-586-2328 (office)
kblevins@paconserve.org