Laurel Ridge State Park to grow by 281 acres thanks to conservation purchase

A recent land acquisition will add 281 acres to Laurel Ridge State Park at the border of Fayette and Somerset counties later this year.

The property was purchased by the Pittsburgh-based Western Pennsylvania Conservancy in December and will eventually be transferred to the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation & Natural Resources. Closing on the $410,000 sale was Dec. 20.

Funding for the project, which was several years in the making, came from the B. Kenneth Simon family and the DCNR.

The sale expands on the conservancy’s historic acquisitions that led to the creation of Laurel Ridge State Park in 1969, conservancy president and CEO Tom Saunders said.

“This is another wonderful addition to the protection of lands in the Laurel Hill Creek watershed and Pennsylvania’s state parks,” Saunders said, nothing that the park’s original 11,000 acres has grown to 13,625 acres.

The new land, which connects Laurel Ridge State Park with State Game Lands 111, comes from the estate of Lois Rugg. The Rugg family approached the conservancy about the sale several years ago, said Michael Knoop, conservancy land protection and planning manager.

“The Rugg acquisition is a continuation of the (conservancy’s) work to protect the ridge line and the Laurel Highlands Hiking Trail. … It definitely benefits the trail as far as the viewshed is concerned,” Knoop said.

While the 70-mile hiking trail does not run through the new land, the sale will have the effect of protecting the undeveloped land surrounding the trail corridor, Knoop said.

It also will protect buffers around Sandy Run, a designated high-quality coldwater stream that flows into Laurel Hill Creek and supports important aquatic species, the conservancy said.

Since the Rugg family once farmed the property, preparing the land for transfer to the state will involve cleaning up debris and removing buildings that had fallen into disrepair, Knoop said.

“They had moved off and stopped farming,” he said. “When the family decided they wanted to sell the property, they approached us. It took a few years for the project to come together.”

The land sits near the summit of Laurel Ridge and will add scenic acreage to Laurel Ridge State Park, which spans four counties and stretches along Laurel Mountain from the Youghiogheny River at Ohiopyle to the Conemaugh Gorge near Johnstown.

The land will expand the park’s southernmost section, which is not contiguous with the other sections.

The conservancy now protects more than 84,000 acres in the Laurel Highlands through property acquisitions and conservation easements, Knoop said. “It’s a big focus of our work,” he said.

Stephen Huba is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Stephen at 724-850-1280, shuba@tribweb.com or via Twitter @shuba_trib.