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Conservancy
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Category: News & Updates

Central Pennsylvania Conservancy selects new Executive Director

The Board of Directors is pleased to announce that Peggy Fogarty has been selected as Executive Director of Central Pennsylvania Conservancy effective July 28, 2025.   Peggy Fogarty brings over two decades of leadership in nonprofit management, program development, and mission-driven strategy across Pennsylvania’s environmental and agricultural sectors. A passionate advocate for conservation, Peggy’s commitment to land stewardship is deeply rooted in her personal history. Her grandparents sold a large tract of land in the 1960s that became part of what is now the Appalachian Trail in Dauphin County. Their cabin beside the trail instilled in her a lifelong love for mountain views, birds, trees, wildflowers, and waterways that define our region. Peggy has built a career guiding businesses and organizations that prioritize people, planet, and prosperity. Her experience spans organic farming, energy efficiency, and partnerships with conservation agencies. She has helped hundreds of agricultural entrepreneurs, from small meat processors to produce growers and shellfish farmers, navigate start-up and growth through strategic planning and capacity building. She has successfully led and supported nonprofits in developing internal systems that strengthen effectiveness, improve accountability, and promote transparency to sustain mission-driven impact. Peggy has been instrumental in bringing organizational vision and missions to life by listening, empowering, and uniting people to achieve common goals. Her leadership style emphasizes participatory governance and cross-functional team building, qualities she believes are essential for scaling the mission and infrastructure of the Central Pennsylvania Conservancy. She holds a Master of Science in Family & Consumer Sciences from the University of Arizona and a Bachelor of Arts in Urban Studies, Anthropology, and Art from Rutgers University. Central Pennsylvania Conservancy is proud to welcome Peggy as its next Executive Director, confident in her ability to lead the organization into its next chapter of growth, collaboration, and conservation impact.

Celebration of the Letort Prints Available

We are celebrating two major milestones at the Letort Spring Garden Preserve. 2025 marks the 10-year anniversary of the protection of the Letort Spring Garden Preserve.  This 40+ acre property is home to critical species in south-central Pennsylvania habitat and holds a rich cultural and natural history.  We are grateful to steward a unique property that the public can enjoy. In 2024, we completed a multi-year accessibility project that includes a new ADA-compliant parking lot and paved trail, which runs past the  Nationally Registered Melester Barn.  Accessible bird feeders, an ADA-compliant picnic table, and benches have been installed near the Barn and along the improved path.  Former farm infrastructure has been repurposed into two new observation platforms that were installed along the trail, offering an accessible view to the meadows and wetlands.  For several years, our Land Stewardship Specialist Jesse Price has been conducting ecological restoration at the Letort Spring Garden Preserve which included native plant restoration & planting, invasive plant management and wildlife habitat improvements. Additional enhancements to the Preserve will continue throughout 2025 and include more native plantings, trail maps, picnic tables and benches, bird feeders and viewing amenities, and educational and interpretive signage.    In April we hosted a “Celebration of the Letort” Weekend where we offered free educational events to the public to commemorate these milestones.  As part of this event, we commissioned Paige Setchell to create a piece of artwork that captured the Letort. To help fund our land protection and stewardship efforts, we are selling prints of this commission artwork. > PURCHASE PRINTS HERE<< We are offering prints in three sizes: $10: 5×7 print $20: 11×17 print $30: 18×24 print All proceeds will go towards our mission to acquire, preserve, and protect land in south-central Pennsylvania. > PURCHASE PRINTS HERE<< In the comment section, please add “Letort Artwork”. Prints can be picked up at the office on Tuesdays & Thursdays 10:00am – 2:00pm. Prints can be mailed upon request for an additional fee.* When you support Central Pennsylvania Conservancy, you support the protection of natural lands in south-central Pennsylvania for generations to come. Thank you for your support- you make a world of a difference!

Are you a PA state employee or know someone who is? Read on!

PA state employees can contribute a portion of their pay to a non-profit organization of their choice through the SECA (State Employee Combined Appeal) program. We are proud to announce that CPC is now eligible to receive these contributions. If you would like to help us protect land and expand public outdoor recreation in south-central Pennsylvania, please consider choosing CPC and/or sharing this message with someone who might through the SECA program from now until October 27th. For more information, please visit https://www.seca.pa.gov/Pages/default.aspx CPC is listed under United Way of Cumberland County, and our code is 4417-0041. Thank you for your support! -The team at Central Pennsylvania Conservancy

Join us at Spring Garden Gallery: A Celebration of the Arts and Conservation!

In collaboration with Susquehanna Valley Plein Air Painters, join Central Pennsylvania Conservancy on Sunday, June 12 from 12-3 pm at the Letort Spring Garden Preserve in Carlisle, PA for art and music, food and community in an unforgettable, idyllic setting. Expect delicious local catering from The Sweet Botanist, lively conversation and connection, old time bluegrass tunes from Charm City Junction, and gorgeous paintings Artwork will be sold with a portion of the proceeds benefitting the conservation mission of Central PA Conservancy. For a registration fee of $35, you can enjoy all of these delights as we celebrate the start of summer together. We hope to see you there! Register on the event page here.

2021 Ironmaster’s Challenge 15k and 50k Trail Race Event Photos

This past Sunday, the annual Ironmaster’s Challenge 15k and 50k Trail Race was held at Pine Grove Furnace State Park and Michaux State Forest. Hundreds of racers from near and far showed great endurance and stellar attitudes as they challenged themselves for the finishline at the Ironmaster’s Mansion among towering trees, rocky outcrops, rushing waters and historic buildings for an event they won’t soon forget. With weather that held perfectly around 70 degrees with some cloud coverage and a jovial mood among all, 2021’s challenge is one for the books. Thank you to everyone who came out and enjoyed a fantastic day with us at Pine Grove Furnace State Park–participants, volunteers, family, and friends. Photos by Mike Lomma captured the spirit of the day! Enjoy these photos of the event and check back soon for more uploads.

Support the Match Madness Campaign!

Making a donation of stock is an easy and meaningful way to advance important programs and services in our community. Gifting appreciated stock that has been held for more than one year to a charitable organization may provide a valuable way to avoid paying capital gains tax on the increase in value. It’s an easy, tax-smart way to give. Plus, it may increase your potential charitable deduction. Always consult your personal tax advisor for individual tax advice. During the Match Madness campaign, the Partnership for Better Health is accepting gifts of stock to benefit participating organizations like Central Pennsylvania Conservancy Instructions for your broker to make the stock transfer are shared below. Please make sure Central Pennsylvania Conservancy is listed as the designation for the gift: 100% of your stock contribution will be received by our organization, plus a portion of the matching gift fund. Donations must be made through the Partnership’s donation page: https://interland3.donorperfect.net/weblink/weblink.aspx?name=E206321&id=10 Please consider a gift today! As you may know, CPC has been active since 1982 with a mission to acquire, preserve, and protect local land and natural resources in South-Central Pennsylvania. We currently steward 5 preserves and 30 conservation easement properties while initiating new protection projects each year to save critical lands from future development, secure open space and habitat, protect high-quality streams, preserve working farms and healthy forests, and open public access to nature for all. Proceeds support our spring launch of the Letort Spring Garden Preserve restoration initiative. We’re starting the first phase of ecological restoration to bring the site back to the flora and fauna that James Letort may have encountered in the 1720’s. We’re rehabilitating the historic bank barn and springhouse listed currently on the National Register of Historic Places. We’re excited to keep expanding public access to the preserve and to add informative signs along our trails. Show your support for this work with a donation this month–we thank you in advance for your generosity! Here are a few more details to consider while you ponder a gift: *The easiest way to give is online HERE.* You can mail in a check to: Partnership for Better Health 274 Wilson Street Carlisle, PA 17013. *All checks must be made payable to Partnership for Better Health, noting Central Pennsylvania Conservancy in the memo line of the check.

Buy Native Plants this Fall and Support CPC

We’ve partnered with Diakon Wilderness Greenhouse for an online native plant sale—now through October 31st! Embellish your backyard with beautiful native plants, nourish the insects and wildlife that depend on them, and support your local land trust & native plant nursery in the process! A portion of each sale will support the land protection projects of CPC, including the conservation easement we are recording soon for Diakon Wilderness Center! CPC will only get credit if you use the coupon code: $5CPC. Purchased plants are to be picked up at the Wilderness Greenhouse on Fridays and Saturdays between 10am and noon. Attract swarms of butterflies, like this common buckeye, with purple asters. These late-blooming native plants offer critical sources of nectar and pollen for pollinators before the first hard frost.   Incorporate some turtlehead, whose flowers produce nectar that contains natural compounds which helps relieve native bees of their intestinal parasites. Plant some prescriptions in your yard!   Cultivate native goldenrods and enjoy their vibrant fall flowers while native caterpillars, like this Brown-Hooded Owlet, enjoy snacking on their foliage.   Trees are also important hosts for native insects, like the stingless wasp that creates the magnificent pine cone oak galls on the twigs of swamp white oak.   Thanks for purchasing native plants to enrich local habitats and for supporting the good work of local non-profits!      

CPC Acquires 404 Acres on Peters Mountain

On September 3, 2020, CPC purchased 404 acres of ridge and forest land along Peters Mountain in Middle Paxton Township, Dauphin County. The newly acquired parcel adjoins DCNR’s Joe Ibberson Conservation Area and State Gamelands #211, and it contains the historic Victoria Trail. This acquisition is intended for future transfer to adjoining public lands owned by the PA Game Commission (SGL #211) and the National Park Service (Appalachian National Scenic Trail Corridor). This project received critical financial assistance from the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources’ Keystone Recreation, Park, and Conservation Fund. It was also supported by a generous donation in value by Flemish Down LLC, former owners committed to protecting Clarks Creek Valley and Peters Mountain. Appalachian Land & Conservation Services, led by Josh First, represented the landowner in this transaction, helped shepherd the transaction, and is Flemish Down’s long-time land manager. With this project, CPC expands the protection of the Peters Mountain landscape, eliminating prospects for new development on the mountain as Dauphin County and Harrisburg continue to grow. It preserves views and recreational opportunities, both hiking and hunting, while protecting forestland, wildlife habitat, and water resources, including a natural spring used by hikers on the Appalachian Trail. The popular Peters Mountain shelter is located on the ridge of the acquired property. Built in 1994, the shelter accommodates up to 20 people and replaced the original Earl Shaffer shelter, which is now in the Appalachian Trail Museum at Pine Grove Furnace State Park. Earl Shaffer was the first northbound AT thru-hiker in 1948 and the first southbound thru-hiker in 1965. A natural spring providing a water source to hikers is located down a steep trail of over 300 stone steps below the shelter on the north side. “This is CPC’s second bargain sale project with landowner Flemish Down, a family committed to preserving Clark’s Creek Valley for future generations,” says Anna Yelk, CPC’s executive director. The first project was the 27-acre Bailey’s Grove Fishing Access and Natural Area. Initially donated by Flemish Down in 2010, CPC transferred the property to the PA Fish & Boat Commission. That project opened up one mile of public access to Clarks Creek, a designated High Quality Coldwater Fishery and popular site among anglers and kayakers. Barely 3 miles away lies the current Peters Mountain parcel. Rising 1,000 feet above Clarks Creek, this acquisition will open up 404 acres for public use in perpetuity. “Our family owned and took care of this land since early in the last century. We are happy and proud that, from now on, it will be open to the public, thanks to the forward-thinking work of the Central Pennsylvania Conservancy, the State Game Commission, and the National Park Service. We hope hunters, hikers, nature lovers and bird watchers flock to this land, forever enjoying the beauty of the forest and the majestic views it affords of both Clarks Valley and Powells Valley.” — Michael Blum, Manager, Flemish Down, LLC “I know my parents would have been delighted by this project. From my father laying out maps of Peters mountain on a table, to my mother leading groups of Girl Scouts on the Appalachian Trail, to a family story of my grandmother handing out snake-bite kits to workers up on the mountain, our property on Peters Mountain has been important to my family. Now it can be enjoyed by all for many years to come.” — Annette Alger Cameron Blum, Member, Flemish Down, LLC “This property’s many conservation values add up to an especially high return for the public. Joe Ibberson would have been thrilled about this. Joe was a friend of mine, and long ago he and I had sat together on the northern stretch of the Victorian Trail, on his property that ended up becoming Pennsylvania’s first Conservation Area, and talked about adding this part of Flemish Down to his own public lands conservation legacy. Well, we did it, Joe, thanks to Flemish Down, DCNR, and CPC.” — Josh First, President, Appalachian Land & Conservation Services LLC Pictured above from the left: Anna Yelk (Executive Director, CPC), Josh First (President,  Appalachian Land & Conservation Services LLC ), Annette Alger Cameron Blum, and Michael Blum, both principals of Flemish Down LLC. 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, and outreach. CPC serves Cumberland, Perry, Franklin, Dauphin, and Juniata counties from offices in Carlisle.