Infrastructure enhancement projects now complete at the Letort Spring Garden Preserve!
Recent construction at the Letort Spring Garden Preserve (1110 S. Spring Garden Rd., Carlisle, PA 17013) is now complete! Enjoy the new parking area, as well as an ADA accessible trail from the parking area to our historic barn. The barn has a newly added picnic table and bench, as well as bird feeders. Special thanks to all of the partners and entities that brought this project to fruition. Please come enjoy these new features!
Updates on the Letort Spring Garden Preserve
We have several important updates we would like to share about our Letort Spring Garden Preserve! First, the preserve is looking absolutely gorgeous on this overcast and drizzly day, with lots of bird activity! Migration season is in full swing, and our year round residents can be seen all about. There’s still daylight to check out the magic! -The Parking Meadow at 1110 S. Spring Garden Road is currently closed due to construction of the ADA parking and trail to the barn. Please park along Bonnybrook Road at 40.176530, -77.185735, there is room for 3 or 4 vehicles. The area behind the barn is also inaccessible at this time. Construction should wrap up around the end of the year. -The two new observation platforms are complete and ready for your visit! Stop by and catch some great views of the preserve; the platforms can be found at the former Troutkeeper’s House at 40.177032, -77.184290, and the other at the old loading dock at 40.177516, -77.181144. We are working on interpretive signage for both of these areas! -A new sinkhole opened up in the western watercress beds. This is a natural process when it comes to limestone geology and water. We are currently working with qualified professionals to address the situation. Please see the attached map for the location of the sinkhole and avoid this area until further notice. And finally… tomorrow (Thursday) evening at 5:30 pm, join us for a walk for Pennsylvania Healthy Lands Week; starts, goes to the Letort Spring Garden Preserve, then walks back and ends at the Lamberton Middle School Visitor Parking Lot (777 S Hanover St, Carlisle, PA 17013). Above: Map with sinkhole location. Please avoid this area for the foreseeable future, we will update when it is open for exploration again.
Join us to support land conservation efforts of CPC!
CPC is actively pursuing its mission through the following projects in 2021 and 2022. We greatly appreciate your support in any amount to help us advance each one! DONATE TODAY Spangler Addition to Boyd Big Tree Conservation Area (58 acres, Dauphin Co.) CPC’s recent closing of this “gap” in protection on the Kittatinny Ridge now provides continuous public access along the Blue Mountain ridgeline between Hocker Park and Boyd Big Tree Conservation Area. This bargain sale acquisition from the Spangler’s, who wanted to honor their family’s conservation legacy, will allow CPC to collaborate with Susquehanna Appalachian Trail Club on trail improvements and stewardship efforts that promote healthy forest habitat prior to transfer to DCNR’s Boyd Big Tree Conservation Area. Scott Farm–Peters Mountain Land Exchange (Cumberland & Dauphin Cos.) A land exchange between CPC and the National Park Service (NPS) will allow CPC to protect the historic Scott Farm from demolition, securing parking and access for the public, AT hikers, and operational space for the Keystone Trails Association and the Cumberland Valley Appalachian Trail Club. NPS will receive 162 acres along Peters Mountain that contains the Peters Mountain Shelter and buffers this section of the trail. Crist Tract Addition to Brady Bryner Preserve (36 acres, Juniata Co.) In 1993, CPC accepted ownership of a 252-acre property on Herringbone Ridge in Juniata County, immediately west of Port Royal. CPC’s Brady Bryner Preserve is managed for its exemplary habitat. With a recent grant approved by DCNR’s Community Conservation Partnerships Program (C2P2), and matched by private donor support, CPC will purchase a critical 36-acre inholding known as the Crist Tract to consolidate the preserve. The parcel includes a hardwood forest, a tributary to Tuscarora Creek, and is prime habitat for game species including turkey, deer, grouse, and bear. Amberson Easement at Tuscarora Trail and Historic Catholic Path (92 acres, Franklin Co.) CPC will acquire a conservation easement at the nexus of the Tuscarora Trail and the historic Catholic Path on Rising Mountain. Offering a critical buffer to the Tuscarora State Forest and protecting forest habitat within the Kittatinny Landscape, this easement is positioned to become a sterling example of forest stewardship that the public will be able to experience and enjoy. Kittatinny Ridge and South Mountain Conservation Landscape Protection (target parcels located in Cumberland, Perry, and Franklin Counties) CPC is protecting critical gaps along the Kittatinny Ridge in PA together with 6 other land trusts. Outreach efforts to landowners along the ridge in Franklin and Perry Counties intend to secure healthy forests, recreational opportunities, wildlife habitat, and water resources in PA’s most resilient landscape. In the South Mountain region, support from the Appalachian Trail Conservancy’s Wild East Action Fund and Cumberland County is enabling CPC to launch outreach to landowners of high conservation value, forested acreage at the northern terminus of the South Mountain region. Fort Halifax Park Partnership and Improvement Efforts (173 acres, Dauphin Co.) Protected in 2006 and transferred to Halifax Township, the property’s historic barn and farmhouse were at risk of being demolished last year. With the help of the Friends of Fort Halifax Park, demolition was avoided and now CPC is collaborating with the Township and the Friends group to support necessary improvements to the railroad crossing and to evaluate the building stabilization and restoration effort to better accommodate public access and use. CPC holds a conservation easement on the former farmstead. Letort Spring Garden Preserve Improvement Initiative (Cumberland Co.) With the preserve management plan complete, the first phase of improvements to CPC’s flagship preserve are underway. The 1881 historic bank barn and 1820’s springhouse are being restored, and other improvements include public access accommodations, interpretive signs, and ecological restoration.
CPC Secures 58 Acres on Blue Mountain/Kittatinny Ridge in Dauphin County Connecting State & Local Public Lands
On June 16th, the Central Pennsylvania Conservancy (CPC) purchased several tracts atop Blue Mountain in Dauphin County via a bargain sale acquisition, intended as an eventual transfer to the PA Department of Conservation and Natural Resources as an addition to Boyd Big Tree Preserve Conservation Area, a popular natural area for local residents. Owned by father and son, Mr. Jim and Tim Spangler, the land was in the family since the 1880’s and first owned by Jim’s grandfather who ran a small sawmill operation in Linglestown. It was purchased from him by Jim’s “Uncle Herm” Wolfersberger, who paid for it with the wages he earned at the sawmill. The Spanglers’ willingness to donate value as part of a bargain sale to the Conservancy stems from Uncle Herm’s legacy of always allowing his land to be available to the public to enjoy. Uncle Herm was an old school survivalist who understood how to live in harmony with nature and share his love of nature with the community. Mr. Jim Spangler adds, “Uncle Herm was the finest gentleman I’ve ever known, and I know he would be happy to see this land protected for future generations.” Jim Spangler knew that in 2002, CPC purchased the Shreckengaust Tract from his neighbors to extend the Boyd Big Tree Preserve further east on the ridge and aimed to follow this example. That goal was achieved almost 20 years later, and not only does it extend the preserve on the Kittatinny Ridge and protects the East Shore Darlington Trail, but it also connects the Boyd Big Tree Preserve to a major access point and future trailhead, Hocker Park, owned by Lower Paxton Township. The park is located on the ridgetop just off of Blue Mountain Parkway, the road that connects Linglestown Rd. to Fishing Creek Valley Rd. Now, recreationists will be able to enter the Boyd Preserve from the ridgeline and enjoy convenient access to novel acreage of open space within this vulnerable landscape. In additional to the Spangler’s donation of part of the value of the tract, CPC received generous grant awards from DCNR’s Bureau of Recreation and Conservation’s Keystone Recreation, Park and Conservation Fund for land trusts; the Alexander Boyd and Jane Starke Boyd Charitable Foundation; and, The Nature Conservancy—PA Chapter, as it falls within a top tier priority area for protection of the Kittatinny Ridge corridor. CPC extends its gratitude to these generous funding sources, which it relies upon to achieve its land protection goals. The grant agreement ensures that CPC will work in partnership with Lower Paxton Township and other partners to install sufficient signage at the trailhead and maintain the 2-mile “Janie Trail” or East Shore Darlington Trail on the ridge that connects to the state conservation area prior to transfer. CPC looks forward to collaborating with their partner, Susquehanna Appalachian Trail Club (SATC), on volunteer trail maintenance. Central PA Conservancy members and volunteers are in the process of completing more acquisitions, transfers, and conservation easements to secure other natural areas and public lands. You can contribute or help by becoming a member. CPC is a 501(c)3 land trust committed to conserving natural resources for the benefit of current and future generations through land acquisition, conservation easements, education, and outreach. CPC serves Cumberland, Perry, Franklin, Dauphin, and Juniata counties from offices in Carlisle. To make a contribution, please visit CPC’s website, www.centralpaconservancy.org.
CPC secures first trail easement on the South Mountain Trolley Greenway
The South Mountain Trolley Greenway is a proposed 8-mile trail following the former Cumberland Valley Railroad corridor between Dillsburg and Mechanicsburg. It would traverse the Cumberland County municipalities of Mechanicsburg Borough and Monroe and Silver Spring townships, and the York County municipalities of Dillsburg Borough and Carroll Township. The greenway was first identified as the Trolley Line Greenway in the Cumberland Countywide Greenway Study (2000) and the Northern York Region Comprehensive Recreation, Parks & Open Space Plan (2005). The Friends of the South Mountain Trolley Greenway formally mobilized this spring with the mission to generate community support for the trail, advance the trail planning effort, and conduct direct outreach to landowners to secure trail easements and generally to support the trail’s establishment. The result will bring needed recreation opportunities to local residents, a renewed sense of place and community, and an appreciation for the unique historical, ecological, agricultural, and economic values of the South Mountain region. CPC has participated on the study committee for the initial feasibility study and is working together with the Friends of South Mountain Trolley Greenway as a partner in this effort. By virtue of its function as a local land trust, CPC may serve as a holder of the trail easement agreements with landowners. While CPC is unlikely to be the entity to construct and manage the trail, it strongly supports the planning and outreach effort and securing and holding the trail easements. “Greenways offer unique open space conservation opportunities that can enable broader appreciation of and interaction with this region’s natural and historic landscapes. We’re really fortunate and thankful to be able to partner with an organization like CPC at this critical early stage of the trail’s development,” said David Maher, a Cumberland County resident who has been spearheading the Greenway effort since 2016. In this role, CPC has accepted the project’s first trail easement for the northern trailhead at the Wertz Coal Yard property on Trindle Rd. in Mechanicsburg. We hope this serves as an example or model for future landowner agreements. The trail corridor extends south to connect to Coover Park in Dillsburg, as the southern trailhead. Keep up-to-date on South Mountain Trolley Greenway updates by following them on FaceBook!
Diakon Wilderness Center Easement
The Diakon Youth Services Wilderness Center sits on a 169-acre wooded property, surrounded by PA State Game Lands 305 on three sides and the Appalachian Trail Corridor on its eastern boundary.
Strickler Easement
The Strickler Easement is positioned against the West-Branch Conococheague Creek and is crossed by Johnston Run, a coldwater tributary. The farm is just one mile from Mercersburg, a historic town of 1500 and home to Mercersburg Academy. Route 16 connects the community with Interstate 81, just 15 minutes away.
Fort Halifax Park
Beginning in 2004, Central PA Conservancy and community members rallied to save what was, most recently, the historic Yeager Farm. Together, more than half a million dollars was raised to complete the acquisition.
Tyler Easement
Walter and Jessie Tyler left suburban Philadelphia in the early 1960’s when the much-opposed construction of the “Blue Route” expressway condemned a portion of their property. In search of an untouched, natural area to relocate, they found their slice of paradise along McCabe Run in Perry County.