The Lancaster Conservancy has transferred a 175-acre nature preserve to the state.
Rock Springs Nature Preserve was transferred to the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources’ Bureau of Forestry, which will manage the property as part of the William Penn State Forest.
The nature preserve is located in Fulton Township in southern Lancaster County, and is part of the state designated Susquehanna Riverlands Conservation Landscape as well as the State Line Serpentine Barrens, a globally rare ecosystem which includes the last remaining serpentine grasslands in the eastern United States, according to The Lancaster Conservancy.
“Rock Springs consists of a unique habitat of global significance – serpentine barrens – caused by thin infertile soil derived from underlying serpentine rock geology. Serpentine soil has too much toxic nickel and chromite and too little calcium for most plants, but because of these unusual conditions, it supports an array of rare and unusual plant species that have evolved to survive in this environment,” the Lancaster Conservancy said in a news release.
Officials said that managing serpentine landscapes as barrens requires significant effort and resources requiring routine disturbance such as prescribed burns.
“The Bureau of Forestry has proven its ability to effectively manage serpentine barrens through routine disturbance like prescribed fire, implementing these management strategies at other properties only miles away from Rock Springs,” the Lancaster Conservancy said.
Rock Springs was acquired by The Nature Conservancy in the 1990s with funding from the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, then transferred to the Lancaster Conservancy in 2004.
It has now been transferred from the Conservancy to the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources’ Bureau of Forestry
This is the first time that the Bureau of Forestry will own and manage land within Lancaster County.
The William Penn State Forest spans multiple tracts across southeastern Pennsylvania. The forest is home to several wild and natural areas and provides opportunities for hiking, biking, cross-country skiing, snowshoeing, horseback riding, camping and hunting.
Lancaster Conservancy is a nonprofit land trust that has protected more than 11,000 acres of natural land since its founding more than 50 years ago. The conservancy manages more than 50 nature preserves in Lancaster and York counties.
The Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources manages 124 state parks and 2.2 million acres of state forest land.
