State grants will expand public land in Venango Township and fund Greenfield sports court
NORTH EAST — Greenfield Township and the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy will get shares of $52.5 million in state funding awarded for recreation and conservation projects.
The conservancy will receive $108,600 toward the acquisition of 70 additional acres for its West Branch French Creek Conservation Area in Venango Township.
Greenfield Township will get $100,000 to improve Greenfield Township Community Park on Station Road.
More public conservation land
The additional property for the West Branch French Creek Conservation area is raw land along Page Road that includes frontage on both sides of the creek, said Ann Sand, northwestern Pennsylvania land protection manager for the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy.
The property includes forested buffer along the stream. Trees, shrubs and plants help filter pollutants and soil from runoff, control erosion, and provide shade and nutrients for aquatic life.
Now over 1,000 acres, the conservation area is the conservancy's largest expanse of public land in northwestern Pennsylvania. The land is open to the public for hiking, birding, hunting, fishing and exploring.
Future plans for the property include a canoe launch, Sand said.
The West Branch French Creek Conservation Area is located off Route 8 near Lowville.
Basketball, volleyball and pickleball
Greenfield Township will use state funds to build a multi-use court at Greenfield Township Community Park for basketball, volleyball and pickleball games.
The funding also will build an accessible walkway to connect to the park's asphalt trail, township Secretary-Treasurer Renee Wagner said.
A new sign and landscaping also are included in the project.
Additional funding for the improvements includes a $55,000 grant from the Hirtzel Memorial Fund of North East and proceeds from park pavilion rentals, Wagner said.
The goal is to bring the outdoors 'closer to home'
State grants for the Greenfield and Western Pennsylvania Conservancy projects are from the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources with funding from the realty transfer tax, Environmental Stewardship Fund, ATV and snowmobile license fees, and federal monies.
Statewide, 225 recreation and conservation projects received shares of the $52.5 million awarded Thursday.
"These projects will fund critical improvements to local parks, river access and trails across the Commonwealth, which will bring outdoor recreation amenities closer to home and improve access in our communities," DCNR Secretary Cindy Adams Dunn said.
Contact Valerie Myers at vmyers@timesnews.com.
This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: Greenfield park, Venango conservation area awarded $208,600 in grants
