About 100 acres will be added to Buchanan State Forest, resulting in better public access to the forest’s Sweet Root Natural Area, the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy announced today.

The land in southern Bedford County will be added to the Sweet Root Natural Area’s 1,400 acres, linking two separate pieces of the natural area: a smaller piece that contains parking, a picnic area and a trailhead and a larger area that contains remote land. Before the acquisition, hikers who started at the trailhead needed to cross private property to access the rest of the natural area.

“This property will provide an important forested buffer for Sweet Root Natural Area’s 70-acre stand of old-growth hemlock, white pine and cove hardwoods,” said Conservancy President and Chief Executive Officer Thomas D. Saunders. “The acquisition of this property will result in the protection of valuable ecological resources.”

The buffer to the old-growth forest stand also sits along Sweet Root Creek, a headwaters tributary of Town Creek, which empties into the Potomac River.

The Conservancy acquired the Southampton Township, Bedford County, parcel and will convey the land to the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, which manages Buchanan State Forest. DCNR also provided funding for the acquisition.

News release produced by the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy.