Independence Conservancy

Land Stewardship:Independence Conservancy is one of PA's 90 land trusts working to preserve open space and natural places for future generations. We have protected 52 acres by conservation easement and 47 acres by fee ownership. These lands help to preserve the rural character and environmental well-being of the Raccoon Creek watershed. Preserved lands include the JB2 Abandoned Mine Discharge Treatment System near Burgettstown,PA which removes 62 tons of iron and aluminum yearly from Raccoon Creek; the Solar Mine and Treatment System near Bald Knob in Allegheny County which removes 96 tons of iron from St. Patrick's Run; Red Oak Farm in Raccoon Twp., Beaver County which contains 44 acres of mature hardwood forest, open meadows and active crop land; Little Blue Wetland in Greene Twp., Beaver County which provides wildlife habitat and water quality values to the Little Blue Run Watershed; Rocky Bend Nature Preserve which contains 27 acres of riparian forest with 3/4 mile of frontage on Raccoon Creek, managed by the Independence Conservancy for low impact non-motorized public recreation. Independence Conservancy belongs to the Land Trust Alliance, a national network of 1700 nonprofit organizations who have preserved almost 61 million acres in the US as of 2020.

Environmental Education: Independence Conservancy conducts seasonal tours and events at Rocky Bend Nature Preserve where all are welcome to learn about trees, wildlife, watersheds,geology and local history. The Conservancy promotes passive treatment to restore streams impaired by abandoned coal mine drainage. The Conservancy offers technical assistance to local governments, industry, other nonprofits and the general public in abandoned mine reclamation techniques, stream bank restoration, riparian buffer installation, mitigation wetland construction and invasive plant control. The Conservancy's website is home to the Raccoon Creek Region Conservation Plan, a blueprint for the wise use of natural resources within this 330 square mile region of Beaver, Washington and Allegheny Counties in Pennsylvania.

Community Tire Collections:Provide and economic solution to the problem of what to do with waste tires. Since 2004 have processed and properly disposed of over 58,000 scrap tires from municipal collections in Beaver and Allegheny counties. Twelve public collections are offered each year in cooperation with host municipal governments. Independence Conservancy partners with other nonprofits and local businesses to hold yearly Raccoon Creek Watershed cleanups which have netted over 280 tons of illegally dumped trash and 25,000 tires since 1999.