About Us:

The French Creek Valley Conservancy is a private 501 (c) 3 non-profit land trust dedicated to maintaining and enhancing the exceptional water quality, natural habitat, biological diversity and recreational opportunities of the French Creek Watershed in Northwest Pennsylvania.

As a land trust, the French Creek Valley Conservancy holds land in fee, or the conservation values of land via and easement, in perpetuity, with the public as the beneficiary.  How does the public benefit from a land trust’s work?  People receive the benefit of land held in trust through the land’s recreational value, aesthetic and cultural values, wildlife habitat values, and water quality protection value.

A land trust may acquire land outright either by purchase or donation, or by working with a property owner to place a conservation easement on the land to protect it forever.  A conservation easement means that the private ownership of the land is maintained, and the property can be sold, but the land trust then works with future property owners to ensure the conservation values of the land are protected in perpetuity.  Following the wishes of the donating landowner working with the organization, land trust owned properties are typically open for public use for passive recreation activities.

For more info and Land Trusts please visit FindaLandTrust.org