Allegheny Land Trust preserves green space in Ross

Drumming up support for a land conservation effort in Ross may not be much of a problem, as Lindsay Dill learned while attending a township event.

“A 9-year-old boy came up to me and said, ‘So, uh, how much do you need for this thing?,’ very confidently,” Dill recalled. “And I said, ‘Well, we’re going to need about $41,000 from the community to match some other money,’ which I didn’t want to go too far into, because he was 9.

“And he says, ‘You know what? This project is very inspiring.’ And he opened his wallet to give me all the money he had.”

Of course, she checked with the boy’s mother to make sure that was OK. She also explained about plans by Allegheny Land Trust, the organization for which she works, to acquire property next to Ross Community Park with the goal of keeping it green.

And as a bonus for Dill in meeting the young donor:

“He and his brother ended up giving me a tour of the green space, because they actually use it as their backyard play space.”

As senior director of marketing and community engagement for Allegheny Land Trust, Dill often attends events around the region to provide information about the 31-year-old nonprofit’s mission: “helping local people save local land.”

Courtesy of Lindsay Dill, Allegheny Land Trust

The Lowries Run Slopes Conservation Area is near the western edge of Ross, south of Lowries Run Road.

In Ross, the land trust recently acquired 24 acres between its Lowries Run Slopes Conservation Area and the township’s Marion Doulton Green Space, north of the Highcliff neighborhood near the western edge of the municipality.

The result is 67 acres of protected woodlands surrounding the Lowries Run stream.

“This project was great not only because it connected our land and Ross Township’s land with this middle piece, but it also is adding more permanently forested space in a flood-prone watershed,” Dill said. “Green space is able to conserve pervious surface, and especially if it’s forested, it’s then able to soak up that heavy rainwater we’re experiencing more and more frequently because of the change in climate.”

Likewise, the area the land trust seeks to purchase near the municipal park — it has 30 acres under contract — includes the highest point in the Girty’s Run watershed, which drains into Shaler, Reserve and Millvale.

“What’s important in those flood-prone communities, especially Millvale, is conserving land upstream. So this spot especially is very interesting to them. It is in a sea of impervious surface,” Dill said, situated between Babcock Boulevard and McKnight Road.

“And beyond that, this would expand Ross Township’s municipal park,” she explained. “It diversifies that kind of outdoor activity that the municipality can provide.”

Ross Commissioner Denise Rickenbrode — representing Ward 8, where the municipal complex and property under contract are located — cited a township parks and recreation study that featured input from community members.

“To be able to have open space and trails is important to them,” she said. “That is something our residents want.”

Many of them backed the Lowries Run expansion, with 130 individuals donating more than $70,000 toward the $556,727 purchase price of the property. Further financial support came from the state Department of Community and Economic Development’s Gaming Economic Development Tourism Fund, the national conservation-supporting Colcom Foundation, the Sierra Club, Northern Area Environmental Council and Ross Township’s budget.

Rickenbrode pointed out that the project follows the recommendations of a 2021 landslide study report, sponsored by the Ross Township Environmental Advisory Council, which states in part: “Connecting existing green, or preserved, lands in an effort to improve landslide resiliency would be potential uses of the parcels in this area.”

“After successfully conserving the Slopes at Lowries Run, we’re excited to build on that success and continue our partnership with Allegheny Land Trust. We’re truly fortunate to have this strong partnership with them, to have these same common goals of preserving this land,” Rickenbrode said about the planned acquisition in her ward.

Dill said she and fellow land trust staff members enjoy working with Ross officials, and according to Rickenbrode, the feeling is mutual.

“I think it’s the passion that they have. And when you have passion, it makes your work enjoyable,” she said. “To have a position like that, where you’re truly contributing to people’s lives, I would think is incredibly rewarding.”

For more information, visit alleghenylandtrust.org.