Western Pennsylvania Conservation Adds to Tryon-Weber Woods Natural Area in Crawford County – Technologist

Press release shared by Western Pennsylvania Conservancy, November 1, 2024.
Photos courtesy of the land trust.

The Western Pennsylvania Conservancy announced the protection of 23 acres of land in Sadsbury Township, Crawford County. The land is now a new addition to the Conservancy’s Tryon-Weber Woods Natural Area.

The newly protected property, located across Grieser Road from the Tryon-Weber Woods Natural Area parking lot, is forested and hosts vernal pools, which are seasonal wetlands that provide habitat for plants and animals. This property will be managed as part of the natural area and is located near other conserved lands in the region.

The now 131-acre Tryon-Weber Woods Natural Area is open to the public for hiking, wildlife watching, exploring and hunting in the Shenango River watershed. First protected by the Conservancy in 1976, this natural area consists primarily of upland forest and a small stream valley with hillsides flecked with trillium, violets, bellwort and wild geranium in the spring. It also hosts a mature beech-sugar maple forest with a 40-acre stand where some trees are more than 120 years old. This forest has been recognized as exemplary by the Old-Growth Forest Network.

For years, students from the University of Pittsburgh’s Pymatuning Laboratory of Ecology have been using the natural area for a variety of research projects, including learning about the effects of deer browsing on forest health.

“We are pleased to be able to add this property to this old-growth natural area, a wonderful place for visiting and hiking,” said Tom Saunders, president and CEO of the Conservancy. “Adding more land to this area not only improves recreation amenities in Crawford County, but also helps support biodiversity and habitat protection and connectivity in the face of climate change.”

Bequests from Conservancy donors funded the purchase of this property.

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 290,000 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.

Media Contact: Carmen Bray, Senior Director of Communications, [email protected].