NEWS

Wildlands Conservancy Protects 38 acres, Expands South Mountain Preserve

Wildlands announced today the permanent protection of approximately 38 acres situated in Salisbury and Upper Saucon Townships, Lehigh County that will expand the organization’s 400+-acre South Mountain Preserve.

“At a time when the Lehigh Valley is losing open space at the alarming rate of 2,000 acres a year, we need to protect all we can, while we can,” says Christopher Kocher, president of Wildlands Conservancy. “These 38 acres will expand a local, natural destination in an otherwise urban landscape, serving our community with more space for outdoor recreation and retreat, while also sustaining critical habitat and natural resources.”

Acknowledging Our Giving Community and Funding Partners

Wildlands acknowledges the support of its giving community, especially the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, Girl Scouts of Eastern Pennsylvania (GSEP), TC Energy Foundation, Michael and Jane Benning, and the Henry C. Hilliard Memorial Fund, along with private donations, for funding the acquisition of this property from and in cooperation with Roger Persing and GSEP.

“Girl Scouts encourages girls to get outdoors, develop skills to become confident and competent in the natural environment, and inspires them to become environmental stewards and leave a place better than they found it. Camp Mountain House, a Girl Scout property for more than 70 years, has been protecting 15+ acres on South Mountain, and we are thrilled to have recently increased its acreage and invest in this important preservation project. GSEP looks forward to its continued partnership with the Wildlands Conservancy inspiring future generations to protect this beautiful and naturally pristine land from future development,” says Kim E. Fraites-Dow, CEO, Girl Scouts of Eastern Pennsylvania.

Visionary Supporters & an Inspiring Matching-Gift Challenge

Leadership donors within Wildlands’ giving community stepped forward to leverage a matching-gift challenge to help secure the final funds needed to realize the permanent protection of these 38 acres and the expansion of South Mountain Preserve. Two of those donors are longtime friends and supporters, Michael and Jane Benning. The couple is among the committed visionaries ensuring South Mountain Preserve exists as it does today, as well as for generations to come. Their connection to the land they call home helped make an inspiring and lasting difference.

“This is a particularly important acquisition because in conjunction with Camp Mountain House and the City of Allentown’s parks, this special area is now entirely enclosed as preserved land,” says Michael Benning, “This helps ensure a very promising future.”

“We see these 38 acres as one of the last remaining areas of open space in the Lehigh Valley that has trees to provide oxygen and support clean water. This land also provides a recharge area for the Little Lehigh Creek and offers contiguous habitat for birds and other wildlife,” says Jane Benning.

About South Mountain

South Mountain, a longtime critical landscape for Wildlands, is among the organization’s first land acquisitions, dating back to 1976. The preserve helped set in motion the permanent protection of more than 60,000 acres throughout the Lehigh Valley and Lehigh River watershed. It stands today as one of 14 nature preserves owned and managed by the land trust – a locally storied property among an inventory that is presently growing. South Mountain boasts woodland trails, pronounced rocky outcroppings and unique vistas in an otherwise developed landscape. It is considered part of the 750-acre Robert Rodale Reserve.

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