Conservancy Expands Pocono Plateau Protected Area

Conservation easement to protect drinking water, unique habitat

HARRISBURG, PENNSYLVANIA — September 30, 2008 — A 522-acre site in Monroe County that each spring explodes with the brilliant purple flowers of the shrub rhodora, like nowhere else on Earth, has been protected through a conservation easement by The Nature Conservancy.

The tract is part of the 20,000-acre Pocono Plateau landscape, which supports 45 rare, threatened or endangered animal and plant species. The Wildlands Conservancy and the Conservancy worked with the Bethlehem Authority to acquire the land. Wildlands Conservancy purchased the property and conveyed a conservation easement to The Nature Conservancy. Under the agreement, the Conservancy will manage the property for conservation and non-motorized public access.

Known as the “Maple Tract,” the property lies in the western part of Monroe County and is mostly outside of the Tunkhannock Creek Watershed, a backup water supply for the Bethlehem area. It is valuable as a buffer to the Authority’s drinking water resources. The Maple Tract is adjacent to the Conservancy’s Long Pond Preserve.

According to the Conservancy’s northeastern Pennsylvania project manager Bud Cook, the tract is part of a Pennsylvania Audubon-designated Important Bird Area, provides outstanding habitat for river otter and is home to 31 types of plant communities.

The Nature Conservancy is a leading conservation organization working around the world to protect ecologically important lands and waters for nature and people. The Conservancy and its more than 1 million members have protected nearly 120 million acres worldwide. Visit The Nature Conservancy on the Web at www.nature.org.