For 27 years, Pennsylvania Sea Grant has led successful research, extension, education, and communications programs that support Pennsylvania’s aquatic ecosystems and communities. The program is funded through the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Penn State University, and through federal, state, and local funding.
Pennsylvania Sea Grant Secures 16 Acres of Land and 1.25 Miles of Stream for Passive Recreation
The Pennsylvania Lake Erie watershed is known for outdoor experiences and recreational opportunities like hiking and fishing. Pennsylvania Sea Grant and partners identified two properties in the Lake Erie Watershed, totaling 16 acres and 1.25 miles of stream footage, ideal for passive recreation like walking, angling, and birding. Together, the program worked with property owners to purchase fishing easements in two locations at a cost of $115,000. As a result, public access is now available in perpetuity at Walnut Creek and Crooked Creek, both well-known migratory steelhead fisheries. Since 2003, Pennsylvania Sea Grant has worked with landowners, state agencies and organizations to conserve and protect lands from urban encroachment or sprawl. Conservation of environmentally significant properties protects wildlife habitat, fights sprawl, maintains water quality and aesthetics and, in most cases provides public recreational access for fishing, hunting, bird watching, and walking. To date, Pennsylvania Sea Grant and partners have conserved 2,184 acres of land, over 20 miles of streambank, and nearly three miles of the Lake Erie coastline. In total, land purchase efforts have a value of $15,825,415.
