A Decade Later, Khindri Nature Preserve Grows by 16 Acres
In September 2026, Heritage Conservancy acquired the 16-acre Makarczyk Tract on South Old Bethlehem Pike in Richland Township, Bucks County. The tract shares the southern boundary of the Conservancy’s Khindri Nature Preserve outside Quakertown, which was originally protected 10 years ago. Together, these two tracts now form nearly 60 acres of contiguous protected forest, wetlands, and stream frontage.
Ten Years at Khindri
Heritage Conservancy acquired the original 43.5-acre Khindri Nature Preserve in June 2016 through a donation from the Khindri family and funding from the Conservancy’s Calvin Ruth Memorial Fund. Following the acquisition, the Conservancy granted a conservation easement on the preserve to Bucks County. Conservancy staff have since managed the property to improve ecosystem health and enhance biodiversity across its interior forest, wetland, and aquatic habitats.
What the New Acres Add
The Makarczyk Tract is fully forested and undeveloped, with freshwater wetlands, floodplains, and interior woodlands. Together with the larger preserve, it lies within a block of nearly 500 contiguous forested acres extending from Route 309 to Route 313. Within a one-mile radius of the Khindri Nature Preserve, eight other protected properties encompass 335 acres in lower Richland Township, including three township parks, four private conservation easements, and portions of State Game Lands No. 139.
“The preservation of the Makarczyk property is an immense win for wildlife in the greater Quakertown swamp ecosystem,” said Sebastian Harris, Conservation Biologist at Heritage Conservancy. “This 16-acre woodland is dominated by an assortment of hickories, maples, and oaks as well. The understory is rich with native shrubs adapted to thrive in mesic woodlands, offering structural diversity for nesting birds, foraging mammals, and plenty more. The Makarczyk property is contiguous with our Khindri Preserve, which together spans approximately 60 acres. Such expanses of wild spaces are hard to come by in Bucks County, making the preservation of this property all the more significant.”
Interior forest is defined as unfragmented woodland at least 300 feet from any edge, and it provides habitat that edge environments cannot. According to the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy, approximately 40 of Pennsylvania’s nearly 110 forest-dependent breeding bird species require interior forest to maintain healthy populations. These include Neotropical migratory songbirds such as Swainson’s thrush, black-throated blue warbler, and scarlet tanager, along with barred owl, hairy woodpecker, and broad-winged hawk. Native reptiles and amphibians also depend on upland forest habitat for hibernation.
Protecting Local Water Quality
Morgan Creek, a designated trout stocking stream, flows through the Khindri Nature Preserve to Tohickon Creek and Lake Nockamixon. The preserve’s forested riparian buffers, wetlands, and floodplains safeguard water quality and provide flood mitigation for the surrounding community, which relies largely on private wells for drinking water.
According to the Tohickon Creek Watershed Association, the Tohickon Creek watershed covers approximately 112 square miles across 10 Upper Bucks County municipalities and is home to nearly 45,600 people. The watershed is 57 to 66 percent forested, and Tohickon Creek drains directly into the Lower Delaware River, a designated component of the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System.
A Shared Commitment to Preservation
“We are incredibly thankful to the Makarczyks and our funding partner, the Mary Anne Bowen Hess Fund for Land Preservation, for their flexibility and commitment throughout this conservation effort,” said Matt Babbitt, Senior Resource Protection Specialist at Heritage Conservancy. “Their shared desire for preservation made the permanent protection of this property possible.”
The Mary Anne Bowen Hess Fund for Land Preservation was established through a multimillion-dollar estate gift to support land acquisition and the conservation easement process. In recent years, the fund has supported several of Heritage Conservancy’s land protection projects, including the Makarczyk Tract.
Estate gifts like this one give Heritage Conservancy the resources to act when important land becomes available, often on a timeline that grant funding alone can’t meet. The Makarczyk Tract is one example of what that kind of funding makes possible. Heritage Conservancy’s Bur Oak Society brings together supporters who have included Heritage Conservancy in their estate plans, and their gifts will protect land in our communities long after they are made. Learn more here.
About Heritage Conservancy
Founded in 1958 and headquartered at Aldie Mansion in Doylestown, Heritage Conservancy is a nonprofit organization dedicated to land conservation, historic preservation, stewardship, and community education throughout Bucks, Montgomery, and Northampton Counties. The Conservancy has protected over 17,100 acres since its founding. Learn more at heritageconservancy.org.
