Conserving contiguous natural lands to create corridors of habitat for wildlife and human recreation is one of Lancaster Conservancy’s highest land protection priorities. Often that process happens one small parcel of land at a time. The Conservancy is excited to share that we are adding 10 acres of natural lands to two existing Lancaster County nature preserves – Steinman Run and Pequea – ensuring more of our important woodlands are protected forever.
The new 9.9-acre addition to Steinman Run Nature Preserve in Martic Township includes forestland that has been almost untouched for more than 100 years. Conserving this property will ensure its continued role as a forested buffer protecting the water quality and quantity for the surrounding farming landscape.
Located near other Conservancy preserves including Trout Run, Rays Woods, and Climbers Run Nature Center, this new tract expands the region’s protected wildlands. Steinman Run Nature Preserve is within a supporting landscape of high significance, made up of the Trout Run Ravine, Red Hill Hollow, and Camp Snyder Woods. This Natural Heritage Area includes a hilly, forested tributary to Pequea Creek and contains impressive rock outcrops, small wetlands, and several significant blocks of interior forest. As part of the Pequea Watershed Region of Lancaster County, this project promotes the preservation and conservation priorities of the Lancaster County Places2040 plan, including protecting Lancaster’s high-quality waterways through buffer forests.
The variety of forest-dominated natural communities in this region provides suitable habitats for a wide array of common native plants and animals, as well as for six plant species of concern and two butterfly species of concern.
“The Landis Trust maintained and preserved this property for over a hundred years. Its forests buffer the Conservancy’s Steinman Run Nature Preserve. Protection of this tract will ensure that the water resources needed for the surrounding farmland to thrive are intact. Our forests partner with our farmland,” said Kate Gonick, Senior Vice President of Land Protection and General Counsel at the Conservancy.
The acquisition of this Steinman Run Nature Preserve addition was funded through the Protect & Restore Campaign and with a grant from the Lancaster County Board of Commissioners.
The addition to Pequea Nature Preserve may seem small at 0.2 acres, but it still holds great importance for our natural landscape. This tract is surrounded on three sides by Pequea Nature Preserve and is within the Pequea Creek Woods, a natural area that provides critical habitat for animals and plants excluded from most other parts of Lancaster County. This property will provide a buffer to the existing preserve, protect forest habitat for species of concern like the cranefly orchid, and complete the existing preserve’s holding along Pequea Boulevard.
The Conservancy’s Pequea Nature Preserve surrounds this tract. The owner is donating the land to the Conservancy in memory of his father, Charles H. Anné, and friend, Robert Lenhart Jr. His father loved these woods and was an avid fisherman and outdoorsman.
“The Conservancy is grateful to the Anné family for protecting this land for decades and donating it for preservation forever. It is a small but very important addition to our Pequea Nature Preserve,” Kate Gonick said.
“Connector parcels such as these ensure intact and healthy forests to clean our air and water while providing a home and migrating location for wildlife and birds. Each land protection project completed is a strategic win, and we are thankful for our donors and the County Commissioners for making these investments in our community’s future,” said Lancaster Conservancy President and CEO Fritz Schroeder.
Learn more about visiting these two nature preserves, as well as the Conservancy’s other preserves, at lancasterconservancy.org/preserves.
