Press release by The Times-Tribune published 6 Jan 25
The nonprofit Countryside Conservancy recently announced a 37-acre conservation easement at Lake Carey, ensuring the private land at the north end of the picturesque Wyoming County lake “will forever remain forested and natural.”
The easement agreement with landowners Mark Catalano and Cheryle Stone for the property known as “Stillen Ort,” or the quiet place, means “permanent protection from development,” Countryside Conservancy Executive Director Bill Kern said.
“It’s always going to remain the way that it is now, and for the lake that means improving water quality and also preserving the viewshed for all lake users and residents,” Kern said.
Catalano expressed a similar sentiment in a conservancy press release announcing the easement, noting: “It was important to us to have a permanently undeveloped property at the lake for our friends and neighbors to enjoy.”
The Lake Carey easement also means Countryside Conservancy finished 2024 having permanently protected an additional 662 acres in the Tunkhannock Creek Watershed last year. It brings the nonprofit’s total preserved acreage to more than 2,500, a combination of easement-protected land and public preserves managed by the conservancy.
Broadly speaking, Kern said the nonprofit wants to encourage “smart development” while protecting sensitive areas from overdevelopment, safeguarding the natural environment for posterity.
“Our mission is to protect and connect greenspace in the Tunkhannock Creek Watershed for the current generations and the future generations to come,” he said. “They’re not making any more land.”
Kern also encouraged landowners interested in pursuing a potential conservation easement with the conservancy to reach out via its website, countrysideconservancy.org.
Such agreements permanently and legally restrict the types of subdivision, development and activities allowed on a property, making them “a powerful tool for preserving the important natural, scenic or recreational values of a property,” the website says, noting the easement document itself “is tailored through discussions between the landowner and the Conservancy and is designed to protect the values of the land in a way that reflects the owner’s needs and wishes.”
Information on public hiking and biking trails on conservancy-preserved land can also be found on the website.
Countryside Conservancy is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit land trust committed to protecting and connecting greenspace in and near the Tunkhannock Creek watershed for the public benefit, now and for future generations.
Countryside Conservancy was established in 1994 by citizens concerned about the loss of distinctive features in our regional landscape in northeastern Pennsylvania. Our non-profit organization works within Lackawanna, Susquehanna and Wyoming counties to preserve lands through cooperative agreements with landowners and through direct acquisition with funding from both public and private resources.
