INVESTING IN THE OUTDOORS
5 deals preserve 200 acres for recreation in Berks
While the COVID-19 pandemic brought many closer to nature, turning to the outdoors for exercise and relaxation, it also raised the need to conserve and expand those places of respite, according to regional conservation organization leaders.
Several landowners near state parks and game lands in Berks County have preserved their land through sales and conservation easements this fall.
The agreements facilitated by Berks Nature and Natural Lands increase the size of these public recreation areas for hunting, hiking and other outdoor recreation.
And the value goes beyond the outdoor experiences they provide.
“Open spaces are essential to the well-being recreation brings, but also for the natural services they provide every day, free of charge,” Oliver Bass, president of Natural Lands, said in a news release. “They help clean our air and water, reduce flooding from storms, and cool our planet.”
Here is a look at the deals:
The Yocom and Metka properties, Union Township
Media, Delaware Countybased, Natural Lands purchased and transferred to French Creek State Park 10.6 acres on Sycamore Road owned by James Yocom.
Natural Lands paid $69,860 for the land, which it said was at high risk of development. Development would have removed intact forest habitat required by migratory songbirds and other wildlife.
The state purchased the land from Natural Lands for $44,430.
“Open spaces are essential to the wellbeing recreation brings, but also for the natural services they provide every day, free of charge.” — Oliver Bass, president of Natural Lands
Natural Lands also purchased and transferred to the park the 15-acre Metka property, also on Sycamore Road.
Natural Lands paid $188,000 for the land owned by William H. and Gladys Y. Metka. The state paid $103,750 for the land.
“This property has been in our family for more than 100 years,” a statement from the Metka family said. “Knowing that this tract of land will be preserved forever, and hopefully enjoyed by many, is a great feeling.”
Both properties are next to French Creek State Park’s northern border and will be open to park visitors, bringing the recreational site’s holdings to 7,977 acres.
The forested properties are in a region known as the Hopewell Big Woods — the largest block of unbroken forest between New York and Washington, Natural Lands and more than 50 private and public partners have focused on conservation in this region over the past two decades.
The properties are also within the Schuylkill Highlands Conservation Landscape, an area designated by the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources as a priority for land and water conservation, outdoor recreation, and compatible economic development.
Natural Lands said the proximity of the two properties to French Creek State Park made them even more vulnerable to development.
“Houses in southern Berks County within a quarter mile of the Hopewell Big Woods have an added average value of $8,270 based solely on their location,” a statement from Natural Lands said. “Simply put, builders are eager to purchase and develop land near open space because they’ll make more money.”
These land purchases are among a dozen that Natural Lands has facilitated for French Creek State Park. To date, the organization has worked with the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, or DCNR, to add 386 acres to the park.
Bucci property, Robeson Township
A 15.5-acre parcel on Killian Drive, which Natural Lands purchased for $80,000 in August, belonged to retired Judge James M. Bucci.
“The land has been in our family for more than 50 years,” Bucci said. “I have fond memories of hiking Gibraltar Hill with my father when I was a teenager and, later, of hunting for morel mushrooms with my son.”
He said he was proud and happy that Natural Lands has given him the opportunity to contribute to the efforts to preserve the natural beauty of the area for future generations.
Natural Lands sold the property to the state for $48,194. The land went to the Bureau of Forestry for an addition to the Gibraltar State Forest. The land provides direct access to the Thun section of the Schuylkill River Trail and protects the scenic views trail users enjoy. The Schuylkill River Trail is a multi-use path that will eventually extend 120 miles from Frackville in Schuylkill County to Philadelphia. More than 75 miles of the trail are open to the public for hiking, bicycling, dog walking, running and bird watching.
White Acres, Heidelberg and South Heidelberg townships
The 56-acre White Acres parcel was added to the state Bureau of Forestry’s George Wertz State Forest, which provides important densely wooded habitat for wildlife, including several species of migratory songbirds whose populations are in decline globally. The land is available to the public for recreation, including hiking, camping, bird watching and hunting.
“Our property has been in our family for three generations,” Jim White said. “We are thankful for the blessings of living in a beautiful place. As we pass along the forest land to Natural Lands and the Bureau of Forestry, we are thankful that it will stay in its natural state for generations to come.”
Both properties boast mature woodlands, which help to absorb and filter rainwater. This ensures clean water for the millions of people who use it downstream, slows storm water and reduces flooding. The trees are also nature’s carbon capture, helping to mitigate the effects of a warming climate.
Property records show Natural Lands paid $454,000 for the White tract and sold it to the state for that much, but there was more to the deal.
A two-year conservation effort, led by Natural Lands and DCNR, brought together federal and state funds to acquire the properties as additions to the state forest system. The federal Highlands Conservation Act, a fund established to protect an almost unbroken band of forested hills running through Connecticut, New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania — including this portion of Berks — provided leadership funding for the preservation of the Bucci property and the White tract.
The Bucci property and the White tract lie within the Schuylkill Highlands, a DCNR-designated region at the nexus of two landscapes that have been prioritized for protection: the Highlands and the Schuylkill River Watershed. Funding for preservation of these two properties was provided by the U.S. Forest Service through the Highlands Conservation Act and the Pennsylvania DCNR’s Community Conservation Partnership Program.
Coyle property, Union Township
Berks Nature closed on a conservation easement amendment and restatement on 94.52 acres at 579 Red Corner Road in Union Township in September. The land remains owned by Martha and Richard Coyle, according to property records.
The Coyles voluntarily placed 29.5 acres of their property under a conservation easement, dreaming of the day that they would be able to protect the full acreage of the farm where Martha grew up, Berks Nature announced. Fifteen years later, they were able to make that dream a reality.
Out of their deep respect and love for the land, the Coyles enrolled the farm in the USDA’s Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program. While the soils underlying the Coyles’ farm are considered marginal by agricultural standards, the land plays an important ecological role in the watershed as an unnamed tributary of the Schuylkill River originates on the property. Consequently, the surrounding riparian area not only exerts influence on the health of this waterway, a source of drinking water for people living downstream, but also provides valuable habitat for wildlife.
Instead of actively farming this sensitive land, the Coyles have cultivated a native grassland and planted a streamside forest to buffer the small tributary, which supports native wildlife, reduces erosion and improves the resiliency of the entire watershed. Through the program, the Coyles receive annual compensation for stewarding this land as natural habitat.
The Coyle property is part of the Hopewell Big Woods.