Birdsboro Waters Forest Legacy Project

 

Birdsboro Waters Forest Legacy Project
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Birdsboro Waters Forest Legacy Project
Birdsboro Waters Forest Legacy Project
Project Birdsboro Waters Forest Legacy Project
Project Location Birdsboro, Berks County
Size

1842 acres
Features

A cornerstone project in the larger effort to protect the most extensive unfragmented forest in southeastern Pennsylvania. The site is also important to the local protection of Exceptional Value waterways. Part of one of the highest priority state and regional landscapes, the Hopewell Big Woods.
Type of Project

Acquisition of conservation easement to permanently protect the site45
Total Project Cost

$2,500,000
Funds Raised

$2,500,000
Status

FULLY FUNDED!
Project Sponsors

Natural Lands Trust and Berks County Conservancy
Final Ownership

Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources Bureau of Forestry will hold and enforce the conservation easement on the property owned by Birdsboro Municipal Authority
Project Overview

Located within the Berks County area of the Hopewell Big Woods, the Birdsboro Waters Forest Legacy property is a vast, undisturbed forested landscape of nearly 2,000 acres. It is the largest tract of unprotected land within the largest unfragmented forest in southeastern Pennsylvania. Of serene beauty, the site not only protects important wildlife within the forest while conserving its exceptional value water supply, but also provides valued outdoor recreational opportunities. The Hopewell Big Woods has been identified by the GreenSpace Alliance of Southeastern Pennsylvania and by the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources as one of the highest priority conservation areas in the Commonwealth. It is the singular focus of dozens of local organizations in Berks and Chester Counties involved with the protection efforts of the Big Woods Partnership.
Project Benefits

The Commonwealth has identified the Hopewell Big Woods as a natural community of high biodiversity value containing the largest unfragmented forest in southeast Pennsylvania, three Exceptional Value and cold water trout streams, as well as rare species and natural communities. The Hopewell Big Woods lies at the intersection of two critical natural areas, the Pennsylvania Highlands and the Schuylkill Watershed and Greenway. By protecting the approximately 2,000 acreas of land, water and recreational resources of the Birdsboro Waters Forest Legacy Project, nearly 40% of the remaining unprotected Big Woods forest would be conserved forever.