Allegheny Land Trust Protects Three Properties at Year’s End

On December 29, Allegheny Land Trust (ALT) closed on three properties, totaling 123 acres in Bell Acres and Franklin Park Boroughs.

Two property acquisitions were made possible by fundraising campaigns orchestrated by ALT. The other acquisition was the result of a partnership between ALT and the Little Sewickley Creek Watershed Association (LSCWA), which donated the land to ALT.

The 35-acre Bell Acres Borough parcel is adjacent to public lands already protected by Bell Acres Borough and the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy. ALT is working to protect one additional parcel to complete the Bell Acres extension project in 2017.

The 10-acre Franklin Park Borough parcel is part of ALT’s Linbrook Woodlands extension project, which included another 3-acre parcel protected in October 2016, and an additional adjacent parcel. Linbrook Woodlands is now a 181-acre conservation area adjacent to the borough-owned, 80-acre Linbrook Park.

The 76-acre parcel donated to ALT by LCSWA, called “Devil’s Hollow,” is located in Bell Acres Borough and is adjacent to the expansive Sewickley Heights Borough Park.

“We are so happy to have permanently protected these green spaces in the Big and Little Sewickley Creek Watersheds,” said ALT President and CEO Chris Beichner. “Individual contributions and treasured partnerships are essential to our success, and serve as a direct testament to how important these lands are to the community.”

Each of these conservation areas provides significant public benefit to the community like protecting drinking water, maintaining and improving air quality, preserving wildlife habitat, and increasing passive recreation opportunities like hiking, biking, and horseback riding.