Western Pennsylvania Conservancy
Acquisition
Along French Creek Protects Globally Significant
Watershed and Wetlands
(Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. October 8, 2007) The Western Pennsylvania Conservancy (WPC) has acquired 53 acres in Erie County, along the west branch of French Creek in Venango Township, to protect a vital watershed. The parcel contains 28 acres of a significant wetland system and includes a branch of French Creek, which flows through the entire length of the property. The acquisition was made possible through a partnership with the French Creek Valley Conservancy, which provided financial assistance to purchase this land and will co-hold the property with WPC.
“Acquisition of this tract will protect floral populations, prevent the land from being subdivided and fragmented, create forested streambanks that will diminish erosion, and protect water quality for the endangered and threatened freshwater mussels and fish species that depend on this unique and pristine waterway,” said WPC Director of Land Protection Michelle Chapkis. WPC plans to manage this tract as part of a larger streambank project that includes more than 450 acres already owned by WPC along the West Branch of French Creek Valley. The property is open to the public for non-motorized recreational activities such as hiking, fishing, hunting, canoeing, wildlife and bird watching.
 The Western Pennsylvania Conservancy, the state’s first nonprofit land and water conservation organization, has been involved for more than 30 years in identifying the significance of French Creek’s natural resources and protecting key parcels of land through purchases and voluntary conservation agreements with private landowners.
French Creek is considered one of the richest streams for aquatic life in Pennsylvania. Certain species of endangered freshwater mussels still exist here that are found in few other places in the United States. The wetland at French Creek not only provides a home for U.S. endangered and threatened species, it also filters out chemicals and fertilizers before they reach the creek. A recent analysis by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service indicates that 50 percent of North American birds depend on wetlands.
About the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy |
To date, the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy has protected more than 216,000 acres of natural lands in Pennsylvania, which represent more than 50 percent of the total land protected by land trust organizations in Pennsylvania. Now in its 75th year, Pennsylvania’s first conservancy continues to partner with grassroots organizations to protect land, restore watersheds and save natural habitats.
The Western Pennsylvania Conservancy (WPC) preserves Fallingwater®, the masterpiece home designed in 1935 by Frank Lloyd Wright for Edgar J. Kaufmann in Mill Run, Pennsylvania. In 1963, Edgar Kaufmann jr. (sic) entrusted Fallingwater to the Conservancy. As a symbol of living in harmony with nature, Fallingwater offers a wide variety of educational programs to its more than 135,000 annual visitors.
Each year, WPC plants and maintains community gardens and greening projects throughout western Pennsylvania. In 2007, WPC partnered with more than 5,000 volunteers and dozens of community organizations to plant 140 gardens in 19 western Pennsylvania counties.
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