The Open Space Institute and Wildlands Conservancy today announced the permanent protection of more than 2,500 acres in Carbon County, through a conservation easement that safeguards a stretch of the Upper Lehigh River watershed. The newly conserved land, located in Penn Forest and Kidder townships, is surrounded by Hickory Run State Park, Lehigh Gorge State Park, and State Game Lands 141 — forming a keystone protected landscape for clean water and wildlife.

Wildlands Conservancy’s work on the project was largely funded through OSI’s Delaware River Watershed Protection Fund, which seeks to protect water quality in the Delaware River Basin.

“OSI applauds the Wildlands Conservancy for completing a 2,500-acre project that safeguards the steep, forested slopes along the lower three miles of Mud Run Creek,” stated Bill Rawlyk, OSI’s Mid-Atlantic Senior Program Manager. “This picturesque and ecologically significant stream, bordered by hemlock, hardwoods, and dense rhododendron, is a regional treasure. Striking a balance between development and conservation can be challenging, but Wildlands has established an easement that allows for limited development while preserving thousands of acres of intact forested land along the stream.”

The conservation easement, acquired by Wildlands Conservancy, permanently protects a privately owned property that has long been a state conservation priority.

The land includes Mud Run Creek, a pristine coldwater stream and key tributary to the Lehigh River, which provides drinking water to roughly 200,000 residents and businesses across eastern Pennsylvania.

On its way to the Lehigh River, Mud Run Creek also crosses the Kaczenski Nature Preserve in Penn Forest Township, created in 2024 by Natural Lands with significant support from OSI’s Delaware River Watershed Protection Fund.

“Safeguarding these 2,500-plus acres in the Upper Lehigh is critical to upholding water quality for communities throughout the Lehigh Valley and beyond,” said Chris Kocher, president of Wildlands Conservancy. “We are grateful for the legacy partnerships and like-minded citizens who make landmark efforts like this conservation easement possible.”

Launched in 2014 with funding from the William Penn Foundation’s Delaware River Watershed Initiative, the DRWPF has protected more than 35,000 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. The project was also made possible through the cooperation of Preservation Graystones LLC.

Luzerne County

In nearby Luzerne County, Natural Lands announced the addition of a 53-acre property to its Bear Creek Preserve in Buck Township, Luzerne County.

The forested land, located adjacent to the now 3,986-acre nature preserve, will be managed for ecological health, species diversity, and public recreation.

Bear Creek Preserve is open to the public, free of charge, from dawn to dusk every day except Mondays.

“For generations, this property has been maintained as woodlands,” said John Brislin, representing the Corgan family. “Bear Creek Preserve is part of a larger landscape of protected open space, including state parks and game lands, that spans more than 150,000 acres,” said Jack Stefferud, Natural Lands’ senior advisor for land protection. “Seventy percent of Pennsylvania’s forests are privately owned, which means they are vulnerable to development. We are grateful to the Corgan family for choosing to preserve their land by selling it to Natural Lands.”

More than half of the newly acquired property falls within the “Dry Land Hill Pools,” a special designation determined by the Pennsylvania Natural Heritage Program. The large vernal pools — which appear in spring but dry up as the weather warms — are set within an oak-dominated forest, an area usually quite dry.

The area is home to two “species of concern”: the few-seeded sedge (Carex oligosperma) and the Bog Copper butterfly (Lycaena epixante), the latter of which uses cranberry as its larval host plant.