Grant to preserve Snow Shoe area

By MATT WUNSCHE
Collegian Staff Writer

Even in Centre County, open space is becoming rare and in an effort to preserve disappearing land, a grant has been awarded to a local conservation project.

The Headwaters Charitable Trust has been awarded a $300,000 land grant to help purchase and preserve 1,300 acres in Snow Shoe.

The land is adjacent to the Black Moshannon State Park and runs along Black Moshannon Creek, said Eric Carlson, trust group coordinator.

However, the purchase of the land is not finalized, Carlson said. Negotiations will take place, but he hopes receiving the grant will help the trust complete the deal.

The program has the support of state Sen. Jake Corman, R-Centre, who announced the grant in a press release last week.

Land protection is important, said Don Houser, Corman spokesperson, because the area has many hunting lodges and cabins, which are an important part of the local heritage.

"This is just another example of how the General Assembly and the governor fund programs to preserve open space and preserve our heritage," Corman said in the press release.

The funds are administered through the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR) and the Keystone Land Trust Program, said DCNR press secretary Gretchen Leslie.

The grant is a 50 percent grant, which means the conservation organization -- in this case the Headwaters Charitable Trust -- must at least match the amount of the grant in order to receive the funding, Leslie said.

The estimated total amount of the program is $700,000, which leaves another $400,000 for the fund to raise on its own, Carlson said.

Grants are awarded to programs aiming to protect open space, Leslie added.

"Certainly this program had merit and received funding," she said.

In this case, the proposed protected area is being sold to private buyers for campgrounds and some private building, Carlson said, but the trust program wants to buy the land to preserve its public availability to hunters and hikers.