NEWS

Wildlands Conservancy Acquires 1,000+-Acre Conservation Easement in Carbon County

For the Lehighton Water Authority, clean water is a priority, and this priority led to the recent, permanent protection of its lands through the acquisition of a conservation easement.

The acquired conservation easement is on 1,147+ acres situated in Penn Forest Township, Carbon County, that will expand the protection of Lehighton Water Authority’s Pine Run Area Water Authority Lands.

This acquisition is a water quality priority because it supports the permanent protection of Pine Run and its tributaries, which are recognized as exceptional value streams and headwaters of the Lehigh River. The property also includes parts of a state-designated Natural Heritage Area and an Important Bird Area, meaning it ranks high for biodiversity and rare plants and animals. It is adjacent to previously protected water authority lands owned and managed by the Lehighton Water Authority and Bethlehem Water Authority.

“Protecting critical lands like this is vital to upholding water quality for communities across and throughout the region, as well as beyond. When we keep natural areas like this intact, we uphold the integrity nature intended for the landscape,” says Chris Kocher, president of Wildlands Conservancy. “This permanent land protection is a win not just for precious plants, birds, and a diversity wildlife, but everyone who calls the Lehigh Valley and Lehigh River watershed home. We are truly grateful for the legacy partnerships and like-minded citizens who make important conservation easements like this possible.”

A conservation easement is a legal agreement between a landowner and a land trust like Wildlands. It is a valuable tool for permanent land protection because it upholds the conservation values of a natural area while allowing the landowner to retain enjoyment of the property. With the addition of this latest acquisition, Wildlands holds 80+ conservation easements that commit the nonprofit land trust to annually monitoring more than 10,000 acres to help regional landowners steward and sustain irreplaceable green spaces for the environmental benefit of the whole Lehigh Valley and Lehigh River watershed.

Wildlands acknowledges the support of its giving community, especially the Carbon County Open Space Program, the Open Space Institute (OSI), a national leader in land conservation and efforts, and the cooperation of the Lehighton Water Authority, for making the acquisition of this conservation easement possible.

The Carbon County Board of Commissioners and Open Space Advisory Board state, “We supported this conservation easement as part of the county’s new Open Space Grant Program. The Open Space Grant Program accepted its first applications in the fall of 2024, thanks to funding from the November 2022 Open Space Bond Referendum which received 83% of voter support to preserve water resources, wildlife habitat, and working farms in Carbon County. This project will be the county’s second open space project, and the county looks forward to protecting more open space in the future.”

The Lehighton Water Authority Board states, “We are honored and excited to work with Wildlands Conservancy to permanently preserve this section of the Pine Run. Lehighton Water Authority has been stewarding some of the most precious forested lands in Carbon County for over 100 years, and we are glad to know that this conservation easement will help preserve our water resources for generation to come.”

“The Open Space Institute recognizes the high level of skill and dedication of Wildlands Conservancy in completing this significant project, which will permanently protect more than 1,100 acres of forested land through a conservation easement,” said Bill Rawlyk, OSI’s Senior Mid-Atlantic Program Manager. “Forests help capture and store rainwater, recharge groundwater supplies, and filter water flowing to streams and wells that provide clean drinking water. Protecting these intact forests will maintain high water quality in the Upper Lehigh River watershed while also providing public access and recreational opportunities — a true win-win for the residents of the Lehigh Valley.”

OSI supported this project through its Delaware River Watershed Protection Fund, which seeks to protect water quality in the Delaware River Basin. Launched in 2014 with funding from the William Penn Foundation’s Delaware River Watershed Initiative, the DRWPF has protected nearly 29,000 acres of forested land to safeguard water quality in the Delaware River Watershed, a source of drinking water for approximately 15 million people — including residents of northeastern Pennsylvania as well as Trenton, Philadelphia, Wilmington, and New York City.

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