The McKean Conservation Area
Located in Erie County, PA, divided between the McKean and Fairview townships lies 88 acres of land adjacent to Elk Creek, a popular fishing destination. The McKean Township and the Lake Erie Region Conservancy own the land; which is made up of constructed and natural wetlands, a hemlock pocket swamp, and wooded riparian buffers along the creek banks.
In early 2016, Pennsylvania Sea Grant led a team including representatives from McKean Township and the Lake Erie Region Conservancy to develop a master plan for the property now called the McKean Conservation Area.
The primary goal of the McKean Conservation Area project is to enhance the ecology of the site, increase nature-based recreation, and promote environmental educational opportunities. To meet these goals, project partners worked collectively to enhance Elk Creek Valley’s natural, scenic, and recreational resources for public use and enjoyment.
Partners anticipated the investments would encourage four-season outdoor recreation by residents, visitation by groups interested in nature education, and usage by anglers from outside the area, aiming to spur economic growth.
Previous survey results suggest that anglers attracted to the Erie County stream and shoreline steelhead fishery in 2003 spent nearly $9.5 million on trip-related expenditures. This activity generated $5.71 million in new value-added activity in Erie County, supporting 219 jobs in the local economy. Of 141,134 trips to fish for steelhead in Erie County, 57,78, or 40.9%, were to Elk Creek.
However, it was identified during the planning phase of this effort that ADA access to the region’s tributaries was extremely limited, and that the area would benefit from improving the property’s ADA accessibility. Although there are many ADA fishing locations along the Lake Erie and Presque Isle Bay shorelines, there are very few inland locations where those requiring ADA access can enjoy a streamside angling experience.
Project partners agreed that initial implementation of the plan should focus on ADA accessible improvements, and so the team began developing a funding strategy. Pennsylvania Sea Grant worked with McKean Township to prepare and submit grant applications to the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission, and Erie County Planning, and the Erie County Gaming Revenue Authority to secure funding required to implement the first phase of development.
All four grant applications were funded for a total of approximately $425,000 and once the funding was secured, the final design, engineering, permitting phases began.
Phase I project implementation started to take place during the COVID-19 pandemic, and project partners were faced with a series of unforeseen challenges such as delays, price fluctuations, and contactor availability which caused them to minimize the scope of phase I. Despite setbacks, the construction contract was awarded in 2022, and construction activities began at the site in 2022 and were concluded in the fall of 2023.
Features constructed during Phase I included building a pavilion, ADA parking, signage, and a 1100 linear foot ADA accessible trail that extends from the parking area to the pavilion and continues to the Elk Creek bank where an ADA accessible fishing platform will be developed. At the completion of Phase I a project and funding acknowledgement sign was installed.
Improvements in the next development phase will include a formal parking area, rain garden, and an ADA accessible fishing platform that will extend over Elk Creek. These aspects were originally included in the Phase I plan but had to be postponed until additional funding can be secured. Two grant applications, totaling approximately $285,000 have been submitted to finalize the work.
Pennsylvania Sea Grant and McKean Township are optimistic and eager to complete this phase of the project, improve accessibility for users of the site, and to continue implementing the McKean Conservation Area Master Plan.
New pavilion and two ADA compliant parking spots created in Phase I of the project
The ADA accessible trail running alongside Elk Creek
The ADA accessible trail with bench and trashcan
For more information about this project, land conservation or public access projects, or terrestrial invasive species, contact Tom Cermak.
Tom works on projects pertaining to sustainable land-use development, open space preservation, public access improvement, invasive species management and water quality improvement. Tom also serves as the local coordinator for the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission – Erie Access Improvement Program, the coordinator for the Lake Erie Watershed – Cooperative Weed Management Area, and facilities various watershed restoration and planning initiatives throughout the Pennsylvania Great Lakes region.
