Toms Run Nature Reserve in Kilbuck is being expanded by 52 acres -- the site of the former Dixmont State Hospital, the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy announced Monday.
The conservancy has purchased the land from a private owner with grants from the state’s Commonwealth Financing Authority and the state Department of Conservation and Natural Resources. The total acquisition and site preparation cost $227,000, said Michael Knoop, the conservancy’s land protection manager for the project.
By late next year, a 2.5-mile trail loop -- a 500-foot portion of which will be accessible to disabled visitors -- plus educational signage and additional parking is expected to be completed for another $120,000, the bulk of that from state grants, he said.
The 369-acre reserve is popular with hikers, birders and hunters. It is home to large stands of mature maple, oak and American beech trees.
One of the largest undeveloped forested areas in the county, it has been protected by the conservancy since 1977.
The additional acreage, most of which is steep terrain, will help protect Toms Run while being protected itself from development, logging or other exploitation. Toms Run is a tributary of the Ohio River and is the largest of several streams that flow through the reserve.
“The portion we have owned for many years is still recovering from residential development and oil and gas drilling,” said Andy Zadnik, the conservancy’s director of land stewardship. “Starting in 2006, we started doing some significant clean-up of the property, removing four vacant houses and plugging oil and gas wells. They were a potential hazard.”
The new trail loop will be the first official trail on the site. Many do-it-yourself trails have been carved by forest visitors over the years, and some of those need to be shored up to prevent erosion, Mr. Zadnik said. The conservancy also has limited all-terrain vehicles and dirt bikes to prevent erosion.
The conservancy hopes to enhance the site to appeal to student groups for environmental education. Youth access has been limited because of lack of parking, Mr. Zadnik said. The new parking will be enough to accommodate school buses.
He said a lot of people tell him they have never heard of Toms Run Nature Reserve.
“I get that a lot, and it does feel more remote than being 20 minutes from Downtown Pittsburgh,” he said. “It’s a hidden gem of forest tucked up under the valley.”
Diana Nelson Jones: djones@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1626.
First Published: December 18, 2018, 1:24 a.m.