None The Nature Conservancy in Pennsylvania Press Releases Search All Press Releases Patrick Von Keyserling Phone: 717-232-6001 ext. 101 E-mail: pvonkeyserling@tnc.org

70-acre Cumberland County Acquisition Safeguards Threatened Amphibians and Plants

The Nature Conservancy Commits $3.5 Million To Protect Pennsylvania’s Last Great Places

HARRISBURG, PA — January 5, 2007 — Pennsylvania’s diverse wildlife has nearly 500 additional acres forever protected across the state thanks to local conservationists and a $3.5 million commitment from The Nature Conservancy in Pennsylvania.

The 50-year-old conservation organization, whose mission is to prot ect the diversity of life on earth, identified five critical parcels that are habitat for Pennsylvania’s uniq

The newly protected habitat includes woodland vernal pools at South Mountain in Cumberland County and Minsi Lake in Northampton County, a riparian corridor along the pristine French Creek in Crawford County, endangered Bog Turtle habitat in Northeastern Pennsylvania, and old-growth forests at Woodbourne Preserve in Susquehanna County.

The Nature Conservancy’s acquisition of 70 acres of woodlands in Cumberland County’s fast developing South Mountain area includes several high quality seasonal or vernal pools adjacent to Kings Gap State Park. The Conservancy is working with local partners, including Cumberland County, which contributed $50,000 through the Cumberland County Land Partnerships Grant Program, and donors to fund the purchase and long-term stewardship of the land and public hiking trails.

The South Mountain region is home to one of the richest collections of woodland vernal pools in the Eastern United States. These shallow bodies of water fill in winter and early spring and dry up each summer and are home to many rapidly declining populations of woodland amphibians.

“We’re delighted to protect the natural treasures of South Mountain,” said Bill Kunze, The Nature Conservancy’s state director in Pennsylvania. “By working cooperatively with the local community and concerned landowners, The Nature Conservancy is committed to science-based conservation that benefits both nature and people.”  

“Numerous plants and animals depend on South Mountain’s forests and vernal pools for their survival, including many globally rare frog and salamander species,” said Anne Barrett, director of The Nature Conservancy’s South Mountain program. “Preserving the lands and waters of South Mountain also helps people by fostering clean air for residents, safeguarding natural lands for recreation and preserving this stunning natural area for future generations to enjoy.”

Located south of Harrisburg and west of historic Gettysburg, the South Mountain region marks the northern edge of the Blue Ridge Mountains. Several globally rare plant and animal species as well as unusual forest communities find habitat here. The region boasts a large concentration of high quality vernal ponds.  Since fish cannot survive in these ephemeral pools, they are ideal nurseries for unique and threatened plant and animal communities that are destroyed by fish in other aquatic habitats. Rich limestone spring streams also dot the region, which have a rich aquatic fauna and provide world-class trout fishing. In partnership with Messiah College and the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, the Conservancy is inventorying and developing guidelines to protect the diversity of life harbored by these fragile communities.

For more information on The Nature Conservancy and its work in Pennsylvania, visit nature.org/Pennsylvania. To contribute to these conservation projects or other Conservancy initiatives within Pennsylvania, call (800) 756-2887.

The Nature Conservancy is the leading conservation organization working to protect the most ecologically important lands and waters around the world for nature and people. To date, the Conservancy and its more than one million members have been responsible for the protection of more than 15 million acres in the United States and have helped preserve more than 102 million acres in Latin America, the Caribbean, Asia and the Pacific. Visit The Nature Conservancy on the Web at www.nature.org.