North Branch Land Trust’s Little Wilkes-Barre Mountain Conservation Project Completed
Posted on: June 29, 2018
North Branch Land Trust recently completed the acquisition and conservation of 1,131 acres of Little Wilkes-Barre Mountain in Newport Twp., Luzerne County. The Trust was successful in acquiring a DCNR Community Conservation Partnership Program grant for 50 percent of the appraised value of the land plus a donation from the Pennsylvania Bureau of Forestry to purchase the property from Earth Conservancy. Earth Conservancy donated the remaining 50 percent of the land value.
The property is part of the Penobscot Mountain Highlands, and the Trust is working to protect the entire length of these ecologically rich highlands from Mocanaqua to Arbutus Peak in Mountain Top. The Little Wilkes-Barre Mountain parcel hosts a native brook trout stream with falls and a number of rare plant species according to the most recent Natural Areas Inventory taken by the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy on behalf of Luzerne County.
Upon closing on the project, North Branch deeded the property to the PA Bureau of Forestry where it will become part of the Pinchot State Forest system and be forever protected. North Branch thanks all the project partners for helping to conserve this and other important natural lands in our Northeastern Pennsylvania communities.
