Press release by Western Pennsylvania Conservancy posted 6 January 2026
The Western Pennsylvania Conservancy announced the permanent protection of a 652-acre forested property in Fayette County. It was immediately conveyed to the PA Department of Conservation and Natural Resources Bureau of Forestry and added to Forbes State Forest.
Located in Springfield Township, the property provides a forested buffer along more than 2.25 miles of Buck Run, a designated High Quality Cold Water Fishery by the PA Department of Environmental Protection. Buck Run supports natural trout production within the Indian Creek watershed, which flows into the Youghiogheny River.
The property is adjacent to or near protected lands along Laurel Ridge, including Laurel Ridge State Park, Forbes State Forest and State Game Lands 111. It also protects the viewshed for the Laurel Highlands Hiking Trail near mile marker 19. Because of its proximity to other protected lands, the property will help mitigate the impacts of climate change by providing more connected forested lands for migrating species and for plant and animal species moving to more favorable habitats.
“We are pleased to protect this forest, which continues our longstanding work of protecting ecologically important lands in the Laurel Highlands, to connect landscapes and safeguard water quality, and provide recreation destinations of conserved lands,” says Conservancy President and CEO Thomas Saunders.
Conservation of this forestland was made possible thanks to grants from the DCNR Bureau of Recreation and Conservation’s Community Conservation Partnership Program, DCNR Bureau of State Forestry and Richard King Mellon Foundation.
About Western Pennsylvania Conservancy
The Western Pennsylvania Conservancy (WPC) enhances the region by protecting and restoring exceptional places. A private nonprofit conservation organization founded in 1932, WPC has helped establish 11 state parks, conserved more than a quarter million acres of natural lands, protected or restored more than 3,000 miles of rivers and streams, and assessed thousands of wildlife species and their habitats. The Conservancy owns and operates Frank Lloyd Wright’s Fallingwater, which is on the UNESCO World Heritage List and symbolizes people living in harmony with nature. In addition, WPC enriches our region’s cities and towns through 130 community gardens and other green spaces and thousands of trees that are planted with the help of more than 7,000 volunteers. The work of the Conservancy is accomplished through the support of more than 10,000 members. For more information, visit WaterLandLife.org or Fallingwater.org.
Since the 1960s, the Conservancy has protected more than 85,000 acres of open space in the Laurel Highlands, most of it turned over to the state to establish and expand parks, game lands, forests and other natural areas. For more information about conservation options to protect land, please contact the Conservancy at 412-288-2777 or land@paconserve.org.
Media Contact:
Carmen Bray
Senior Director of Communications
412-586-2358, work
cbray@paconserve.org
