Allegheny Land Trust preserves 120 acres near Glade Run Lake in Butler County

The Allegheny Land Trust has conserved a 120-acre tract of woodlands and rolling meadows at the headwaters of Glade Run Lake in southern Butler County. The preservation is a collaborative effort between the trust, the Glade Run Lake Conservancy and longtime Middlesex Township landowner Joan Goswell.

The land will be preserved through a conservation easement donated by Goswell to be held and monitored in perpetuity by the trust.

“Conserving this land preserves the rural character and scenic beauty of the community and is essential to ensuring that the excellent water quality of the lake is maintained forever,” said Chris Beichner, president and CEO of the trust.

The GRLC was originally formed to ensure that the lake would be restored after it was drained in 2011 due to its unsafe earthen dam. Now that the dam has been rebuilt, GRLC is focused on the threat that encroaching suburban sprawl has on water quality.

“Protecting land in the lake’s immediate watershed is the only way to keep the water clean and the habitat safe and productive for animals, birds and fish,” said Siggy Pehel, president of the GRLC. “Our members live in the community and know the lake intimately, but we don’t have the necessary knowledge, expertise and capacity in land conservation, so we were pleased to find a willing partner in Allegheny Land Trust to help us protect Glade Run Lake.”

The two organizations have identified and prioritized the most sensitive lands in the watershed and have created a plan to collaboratively pursue the conservation of those lands through a variety of conservation tools including conservation easements like the one on Goswell’s property.

Conservation easements are voluntary legal agreements between a landowner and the easement holder that permanently limit future development of the land while permitting the landowner to retain ownership and usage rights as specified in the easement.