Green space in Sewickley area to grow more than 90 acres

A network of connected green space in Sewickley Hills, Ohio Township and Franklin Park is expected to grow by nearly 95 acres.

Allegheny Land Trust, a non-profit that protects Pittsburgh-area land from development, was awarded $728,200 through recently announced state grants to help purchase the land.

Money was made available through the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources by way of its Community Conservation Partnerships grant program.

“Without DCNR support, we couldn’t complete land protection projects like these across our region,” Land Trust president Chris Beichner said. “This grant funding is a critical first step to raise the amount necessary to complete these conservation acquisitions.”

The grants offer vital momentum, Beichner said, but the work is not done.

ALT needs to raise about $400,000 to match the state dollars.

“We’re excited to partner with the communities surrounding these lands to help reach those funding goals,” he said.

The parcels are part of a larger Northwest Allegheny Land Conservation Project that has protected more than 800 acres in Bell Acres, Ross, Sewickley, Sewickley Heights and surrounding communities since 1993.

The current project will connect ALT conservation areas and multiple municipal parks to expand a scenic greenway in the three targeted areas.

In Franklin Park, ALT wants to expand the Blackburn Woods Conservation Area by buying 25 acres in an ongoing effort to connect Acorn Park to the west of I-79 with Blueberry Park and Blackburn Woods on the east side of the highway.

The preserved land would serve as a buffer to noise and air pollution from the busy road and also would absorb 20 million gallons of rain each year.

In Ohio Township, the group is eyeing an eight-acre wooded property that runs along Red Mud Hollow Road and links to the municipal park.

The woods contain trails that buffer the park and create a path from Nicholson Road to Mt. Nebo and Red Mud Hollow roads.

The largest purchase – 60 acres — is slated for Sewickley Hills. Set along Blackburn Road, the land includes the congested corner of Mt. Nebo Road and the I-79 interchange. It serves as the gateway to Sewickley Hills, Sewickley Heights and Bell Acres.

The land buffers noise, thwarts commercial development and provides wildlife habitat, all the while collecting 47 million gallons of stormwater each year.

Beichner said ALT is eager to use the grants to complete what he called vital conservation projects.

Once protected, Beichner said these projects will provide environmental benefits for the entire region.

Lindsay Dill, ALT spokeswoman, said the properties would go a long way to serve the health and well-being of residents in northwest Allegheny County.

“It would provide scenic beauty, clean water, fresh air, quiet tranquility, wildlife habitat and close-to-home outdoor recreation opportunities,” Dill said.