Land Trust and Game Commission Partner to Save Local Land

September 27, 2024

For Immediate Release

  

Indiana Township, PA – In an exciting development for local conservation, Allegheny Land Trust (ALT) and the Pennsylvania Game Commission (PGC) have joined forces to protect the 280-acre Deer Creek Conservation Project in Indiana Township adjacent to Emmerling Community Park and encompassing a scenic mile of the Rachel Carson Trail.

PGC bolstered the project with a commitment letter to provide funding and assume ownership and stewardship once ALT has completed the acquisition process.

“Conserving this land will help maintain the water quality of Deer Creek, protect the integrity of the Rachel Carson Trail and conserve critical woodlands adjacent to Indiana Township’s Emmerling Park,” said Christopher J. Beichner, President & CEO of ALT. “Our collaboration with PGC brings us a major step closer to conserving this significant land forever.”

The benefits of conserving this land are many, including:

  • Expand access to recreation activities, such as: hunting, hiking, biking, birding and more
  • Enhance the community’s scenic beauty and rural character by balancing intense development pressures with thoughtful conservation
  • Preserve and buffer area around the beloved Rachel Carson Trail
  • Preserve the high water quality of the Deer Creek Watershed, which is stocked by the Pennsylvania Fish & Boat Commission
  • Proactively address community and regional resiliency by:
  • Absorbing 231.12 million gallons of rainwater annually to mitigate flooding
  • Sequestering 1.13 million pounds of carbon and 20,000 pounds of other pollutants annually to mitigate climate change and cleanse the air
  • Create a 339-acre greenway by expanding upon Emmerling Park

“In developed areas, where there often is decreasing wildlife habitat and growing numbers of people, conserving lands for wildlife and providing opportunities for the public to get out and enjoy it both are critically important,” said PGC Executive Director Steve Smith. “As a state game lands, the Deer Creek Conservation Project will be perpetually protected, checking both these boxes.”

In addition to a letter from PGC, the project has letters of support from PA State Senator Lindsey M. Williams, PA State Representative Mandy Steele, Indiana Township and the Rachel Carson Trail Conservancy.

ALT and the landowner negotiated an exclusive sales contract in January 2024 outlining ALT’s commitment to purchase the land pending successful due diligence and fundraising by December 2024.

A total of $2,590,000 is needed to conserve the land, and PGC has committed $1,295,000 as well as necessary due diligence to close on the property. ALT has several additional grant applications pending with state and local foundation sources. Upon ALT’s successful acquisition of the site, ownership will be transferred to PGC for permanent conservation and management that supports wildlife habitat and wildlife focused recreation.

“While we have work to do ahead of year’s end, we are excited that this partnership will meet our goals of protecting this land to support biodiversity, air and water quality, scenic character, wildlife habitat, ecological health and resiliency, and opportunities for outdoor recreation along and surrounding the Rachel Carson Trail,” Beichner said.

 

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PROJECT LINK

https://alleghenylandtrust.org/deercreek/

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ABOUT ALLEGHENY LAND TRUST Allegheny Land Trust has helped local people save local land in the Pittsburgh region since 1993, and now conserves more than 3,700 acres across 41 municipalities. ALT’s mission is to conserve and care for local land for the health and well-being of future generations, and it envisions a resilient region with abundant green space that is easily accessible and recognized as essential to the quality of life for all.

 

ABOUT THE PA GAME COMMISSION For more than 100 years, the Game Commission has managed the Commonwealth’s wildlife resources for all Pennsylvanians. Its mission is to manage and protect wildlife and their habitats while promoting hunting and trapping for current and future generations, and it envisions being recognized and respected as the leader in innovative and proactive stewardship of wildlife and their habitats.