Land donation from conservation group increases size of Hampton portion of North Park

About 20 acres of woodlands consisting of three plots is being added to the section of North Park in Hampton Township through a donation by the Allegheny Land Trust, according to officials with the nonprofit conservation group.

The land being added to the park was purchased by the Land Trust for $165,000 with a grant from the state’s Gaming Economic Development and Tourism Fund, said Roy Kraynyk, the trust’s vice president of land protection and capital projects.

Kraynyk said the land, parts of which are in a flood plain, will not be developed with things such as ballfields or other park amenities.

The largest plot of land that was donated to Allegheny County, which owns North Park, is about 10 acres with a leg of Pine Creek running through it near Hemlock Drive, he said.

The other two plots are at the intersection of Wildwood and Montour roads.

Preserving green space not only improves air quality by removing carbon dioxide, it can help reduce water pollution by allowing stormwater to absorb into the ground instead of carrying silt as it rushes along.

Silt is a fine sediment that makes streams and rivers cloudy, which in turn harms aquatic plants and animals.

Kraynyk said preserving greenspace is the most cost-effective way to reduce water pollution.

“One good acre of woodlands or meadows can absorb an average of 800,000 gallons of water a year, ” he said. “Preserving 1 acre of land is cheap compared to the cost of designing and constructing a rain garden, if it was even practical to build one that large.”

Preserving greenspace also keeps it from being used for commercial or residential development, which often create stormwater problems even when control features such as detention ponds are required, he said.

“Any greenspace that is protected is beneficial to the surrounding community and beyond,” Kraynyk said. “The parcel near Hemlock Drive is particularly beneficial because it creates greater access to Pine Creek.”

North Park is located in the Pine Creek Watershed, which feeds into the Allegheny River.

The county’s cost to transfer the land from the trust will be about $6,000, Kraynyk said.

Gary Rigdon of the Friends of North Park group praised the Trust for its efforts to expand the 3,075-acre park located in Hampton, McCandless and Pine.

“Our parks are not just amenities, they are priceless community assets that need to be protected, improved and expanded in all ways that are possible,” he said.

“Expanding North Park through land acquisition not only makes it bigger, this also helps create buffer zones that protect its natural habitat and beauty,” Rigdon said.

While the Trust frequently buys properties that can be preserved, residents who own woodlands that border the park also have a way to ensure it remains untouched by development while retaining their right to sell the property or leave it to members of their families.

“Donors can voluntarily transfer the land to the Trust and sever their right to develop it,” he said, noting that such a transfer also would include giving up the mineral rights and the ability to harvest trees from the land.

“It’s a legal instrument that allows people to maintain ownership of the land while protecting it because the subsequent owners would have to live by the terms of the agreement,” he said.

Kraynyk noted that such a donation recently was made in Indiana Township when 63 acres were placed in a conservation easement to guarantee that its natural state will not be altered.