Partnering with Moore Township, Heritage Conservancy has just conserved 13.26 acres of prime forest and wetlands in Northampton County. The Carpency Property holds valuable wildlife habitat, a diverse tree canopy, wetlands, and stream frontage that is vital to the health of the local watershed. Its wetlands have environmental value, helping to mitigate the local effects of extreme weather.
Scenic views of forested land on the property are visible from approximately 1,304.37 feet of road frontage along North Oaks Road. Moore Township is a co-holder of the conservation easement, which will protect it in its natural state now and for the future.
Connectivity and Interconnection
The land is part of a Northampton County Natural Heritage Area, located within a 1-mile radius of nine Northampton County Farmland Preservation properties (about 435 acres of protected farms), two conservation easement properties held by Wildlands Conservancy (totaling 109 acres), and about 7,800 acres of PA State Game Land. Its “connectivity” to other protected areas makes it particularly valuable.
The property contains part of a much larger contiguous Freshwater Forested/Shrub Wetland habitat, as identified by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service. The protection of aquatic habitats like these is essential to maintaining the water quality of the Hokendauqua Creek Watershed, and protection of the Carpency woodlands will help safeguard the natural recharge of the groundwater aquifer within the entire Delaware River Basin.
Natural and Biological Resources
The Property includes diverse habitats that support native flora and fauna, including mature deciduous woodlands and ephemeral aquatic habitats, like vernal pools, that support amphibians, fish, reptiles, and invertebrates.
The tract contains important oak forest and swamp habitats, along with Prime Farmland soils, as assessed by the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) of the US Department of Agriculture (USDA).
It also features about 2,420 feet of stream frontage along the Hokendauqua Creek and its tributaries. The Hokendauqua Creek is designated as a Cold Water Fisheries stream, a special designation by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection’s Water Quality Standards.
The tree canopy consisted of a good diversity of native tree species, including black walnut, shagbark hickory, bigtooth aspen, various oaks, black cherry, boxelder, red maple, tulip poplar, black gum, sassafras, white pine, and eastern red cedar. In the forest understory, there is rich with a mix of native plants as well.
Ecological Value
The Carpency Property contains wetlands along with wet to mesic (damp) mature woodlands. These areas retain precipitation and are vital to mitigating both erosion and flooding. The diversity of native plants and dense woodlands of native trees on the property sequester carbon, helping to mitigate the rising atmospheric carbon levels that contribute to global warming.
This land holds and protects valuable habitat that attracts and protects local wildlife that is vital to the health of the community and helps protect local water quality. With its beautiful woodlands and the stretch of scenery if offers passersby, this is an example of the way that land conservation can improve the health, beauty, and sustainability of the local community.