February 6, 2025
As we kick off 2025, I just want to thank you for your commitment to the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy by being part of our Heritage Circle. We’re so grateful to have you on this journey with us. Thanks to the generosity of our members, we were able to advance our on-the-ground conservation work throughout Western Pennsylvania and take significant steps to ensure Fallingwater’s long-term preservation.
Here are some of the amazing things our donors helped make possible. In 2024, the Conservancy:
• Protected nearly 23,000 acres, with four important closings taking place in December.
• Cared for more than 14,600 acres of WPC-owned nature preserves and monitored 233 conservation easements.
• Restored 38 miles of streams by improving eroding streambanks, creating new instream habitat for fish and other aquatic organisms.
• Engaged more than 7,000 volunteers in improving our region by planting trees and gardens.
• Made significant progress on the major preservation effort at Fallingwater, including replacing the entire Guest House roof, and welcomed more than 140,000 visitors and lifelong learners to the site.
Every one of these accomplishments happened because of people like you who believe in what we’re doing. Thank you for making it all possible.
Looking ahead, we’re excited about what’s coming in 2025. Here are a few of the many things we’re working on across the organization:
Land Conservation and Stewardship
Each year, our land conservation program aims to close about 10 properties, with many more projects that are actively in the works at any time This year, one project that we’re excited about is the potential donation of a conservation easement over 83 acres in Amity Township, Erie County. The property is located within the French Creek watershed and within an area of global significance. The property provides habitat for several plants and insects of conservation concern Most of the species can be found on the floating bog mat consisting of a thick mat of peat moss
Tuberous grasspink, an orchid found in the area
Beyond preserving our region’s special places, caring for and improving the properties WPC owns is a major focus. This year, at our 580-acre Lake Pleasant Conservation Area in Erie County, our land stewardship program is in the process of having two new picnic pavilions constructed One will be located just west of the lake and will connect to an existing accessible path leading to a dock and canoe/kayak launch. The other will be on the hillside above the eastern shore of the lake and is being constructed along with a new parking area. When completed, we hope both pavilions will be enjoyed by our members and the general public, and will result in a broader appreciation of this ecological gem.
We’re also planning to further enhance and restore native forest on multiple WPC preserves. At the 400-acre Plain Grove Fens Natural Area in Lawrence County (near Slippery Rock), the restoration area consists of about 10 acres of open woodland that had been used for livestock grazing (pictured). Once that use ceased, the understory became dominated by invasive shrubs like multiflora rose. Through repeated treatments, most of the larger shrubs have been somewhat controlled. This year, we plan to conduct one more treatment and then follow up by planting a diverse mix of native trees and shrubs. Similar restoration work is proposed at our preserves on Cussewago Creek and West Branch French Creek, and at Lake Pleasant Conservation Area.
Watershed Conservation
Twelve years ago, our watershed conservation program began planting hundreds of trees and shrubs each year along stream borders. Foresting these riparian zones has many benefits, including reducing soil erosion, alleviating downstream flooding and absorbing pollutants. We surpassed a major milestone – the planting of the 100,000th riparian tree! The benefits of this colossal number of trees will be experienced for generations to come!
Another major project coming to fruition is removal of a dam on Callen Run, a tributary to the Clarion River in Jefferson County. Our watershed conservation program staff have been fundraising for this project for 10 years and we are finally headed to (de)construction this year. Callen Run is a high-quality stream that is stocked and sustains natural trout reproduction. The removal of the dam and excess sediment and subsequent stream channel restoration will allow migration of aquatic species from the Clarion River upstream in Callen Run, increasing species diversity and abundance.
Scaffolding is required to reach many of the work areas, along with special enclosures that keep the areas warm and dry.
Fallingwater
Home repair projects are often tedious. Add in a public tour program that welcomes approximately 140,000 visitors each year as well as a robust education program and the equation gets even more complicated. Over the past 24 months, we’ve been in the midst of a preservation effort to repair Fallingwater’s major building systems. The construction spans stone walls, reinforced concrete, flat roofs, flagstone terraces and steel window and door frames. It is the most comprehensive preservation initiative since we stabilized the deflecting cantilevers in the early 2000s.
In December 2024, we completed the injection grouting at the north wall of Edgar Kaufmann Sr.’s and jr.’s studies, which will stop water from finding its way through the voids of the walls. We
have now moved to injection grouting at the east and west faces of the chimney mass. Grouting will continue around the tower and chimney mass through the rest of the winter and will be completed in the spring. Staff and contractors are also replacing the waterproofing membrane at the west terrace, and the roofing membrane at the visor roof that hangs over the west living room windows, along with concrete repairs of the parapets at Liliane’s terrace. This aspect of the preservation effort will continue through the winter before the house opens for tours in mid-March.
Much of the work requires our maintenance staff to build special temperature-controlled enclosures, which enable our contractors to complete their work at required temperatures, allowing materials to remain dry and cure properly.
Community Greening
Our Community Greening program team develops long-lasting relationships with the communities we serve. One community that represents this well is Coraopolis, and more specifically, the Cornell School District, which serves K-12 students. WPC staff from multiple departments are working closely with teachers, administrators and students on a variety of projects to enhance the learning opportunities available by fully accessing their campus.
Students have been heavily involved in project planning and grant writing alongside their teachers. They recently applied for a TreeVitalize grant with WPC to plant more trees on Cornell’s campus in 2025. WPC’s Forester is working with the students this year to do an iTree Analysis, which will quantify the benefits of their trees and help students further advocate for trees at Cornell.
Students have also had opportunities to learn how to make improvements to their school’s campus by attending field days at WPC’s Toms Run Nature Preserve in Allegheny County. Conservancy’s Land Stewardship and Natural Heritage staff led several classes on outdoor excursions to provide instruction about habitat restoration work
WPC’s Forester Brian Crooks meets with teachers, administrators and students in the outdoor classroom as they prepare their TreeVitalize application for trees in 2025.
This partnership has stemmed from a series of projects in this community spanning more than a decade. The WPC community flower garden on Route 51, just down the hill from the school, was established in 1998. The first community tree planting was spearheaded by the local shade tree commission in 2016, which involved planting several trees on Cornell’s campus to help improve their entranceway to the school. In 2019, WPC staff worked with students to install their first outdoor classroom comprised of benches, an outdoor chalkboard, native trees and
hundreds of native perennials to help attract pollinators to their campus while creating an enjoyable outdoor learning environment. We look forward to what’s to come in the 2025 planting season.
Conservation Science
WPC’s Natural Heritage Program, part of the Pennsylvania Natural Heritage Program (PNHP), explores many places throughout the Commonwealth, working on a whole assortment of projects. The Heritage Program often assists other conservation organizations. In 2025, we will be working with the Mountain Watershed Association (MWA) in Westmoreland County to provide baseline bird surveys and habitat assessments on one of their forested properties. Often, conservation organizations buy and hold properties without having very much information about their biodiversity and health. Bird surveys involve walking to pre-determined points within the property and recording all birds, almost exclusively by song and calls. We do this work between late spring and early summer when birds present are likely nesting and breeding. We can tell a lot about habitat by the assortment of birds that choose to nest there, but we will also be broadly assessing the property for general health of the forest, presence of invasive species and sites where rare plants are known or may be found. With this information, MWA will be able to better manage the property and provide additional educational opportunities for their existing programs.
Thank you!
We couldn’t do any of this without you, and we’re so excited for what we can accomplish together this year. Keep an eye out for updates, and don’t forget to mark your calendar for our annual Members’ Day on Saturday, May 3 at The Barn at Fallingwater and the Sunset Reception – our event to celebrate your support – on Saturday, September 13. If you have any questions, feel free to reach out to me at 412-586-2376 or tsaunders@paconserve.org.
Thanks again for everything. You’re making a bigger impact than you know, and we’re so lucky to have you as part of our team.
Sincerely,
Thomas D. Saunders President and CEO