Black Creek Protection Projects
Wetlands are some of the most imperiled habitats in New York State. With the Black Creek Protection Project, the Land Conservancy will permanently protect 539 acres of important wetlands and surrounding forests in the Black Creek watershed in Allegany County. The five properties that make up this project are important pieces of the WNY Wildway and home to a wide variety of plants and animals. This project will also protect water quality for rural communities and create a new publicly accessible nature preserve for outdoor recreation.
Will you help us permanently protect the Black Creek watershed?
An Important Watershed
In Allegany County, large intact forests provide space for outdoor recreation as well as wildlife. Thanks to a grant from the New York State DEC's Water Quality Improvement Project (WQIP) Program, the Land Conservancy received up to $2 million to identify willing land owners in the Black Creek Watershed who were interested in selling their land or permanently protecting it through conservation easements. The waters of Black Creek provide drinking water for rural residents of the county. Black Creek flows to Angelica Creek and into the Genesee River, ultimately flowing all the way to Lake Ontario and the Great Lakes system.
The Black Creek watershed contains critical Class I Wetlands, among the most ecologically valuable and functionally important landscapes in the region. These wetlands support a remarkable diversity of life, providing critical habitat for a wide range of species, including many that are rare, threatened, or endangered. Their complex ecosystems sustain everything from amphibians and birds to native plants and pollinators, making them biodiversity hotspots.
But the value of these wetlands extends far beyond their role in supporting wildlife. They provide essential ecosystem services that benefit both nature and people. One of their most vital functions is water purification. Wetlands naturally filter pollutants, sediments, and excess nutrients from surface water, helping to protect and replenish the clean drinking water supplies that communities depend on. They also act as natural buffers during heavy rains and storms, absorbing and slowly releasing water, which reduces the risk and severity of downstream flooding. This ability to regulate water flow is increasingly important as climate change brings more frequent and intense weather events.
Permanently protecting these wetlands is not just about saving wild places; it’s about protecting the natural systems that sustain life, health, and well-being for current and future generations.
These two images were taken six days apart at the beginning of May, 2025. They show how the wetlands of Black Creek can quickly absorb flood water preventing damage downstream.
The Black Creek Preserve
The crown jewel of the Black Creek Protection Projects is the 276-acre Black Creek Preserve in the town of Birdsall, NY. Created through the purchase of two privately owned properties, this stunning property contains forests, wetlands, and multiple headwater streams. Located just southwest of the Keeney Swamp State Forest (2,408 acres), the Black Creek Preserve adds important acreage to the core area of the WNY Wildway.
The property is home to wide variety of plants and animals. In the spring, the forests explode with wildflowers including trillium, trout lily, mayapples, and wild geranium. Dark stands of Eastern Hemlock trees are home to Ruffed Grouse and Black-throated Green Warblers. Bright flashes of red from nesting Scarlet Tanagers can be spotted in the hardwood forests. If you are lucky you may spot beavers or river otters in the wetlands.
Once this property is permanently protected we will begin work on a parking area and trail system to make this amazing property accessible for hiking, cross country skiing, and snowshoeing.
Worden Wetlands and Conservation Easements
In addition to the publicly accessible Black Creek Preserve property, we are working with three additional landowners to permanently protect 263 acres of critical habitat within the watershed.
Worden Wetlands
The Worden Wetlands is 180 acres in the heart of the Black Creek wetlands, which will be purchased by the Land Conservancy. It has both woodlands and wetlands, each with its own unique ecosystem. The woodland is a young forest that provides habitat for animals like bobcats, deer, bears, and owls. In the wetland, turtles roam the shore, otters and beavers swim through the water, and birds like Swamp Sparrows and Marsh Wrens call out from the grasses where they nest. The wetlands are filled with plants like tussock sedge, red osier dogwood, and meadowsweet. Due to the sensitive nature of this ecosystem, this property will not be publicly accessible.
The Shaw property is 30 acres of vital floodplain where Black Creek winds through the land, naturally filtering rainwater and helping protect our region’s drinking water. It connects to both Keeney Swamp State Forest and our Worden Wetlands, expanding a key WNY Wildway Core Area rich in wildlife. Along the creek, you’ll find giant tussock sedges, towering serviceberry trees, and rare stands of Balsam fir.
This mature, 53-acre forest borders Jersey Hill State Forest and will add to more than 1,000 acres of protected land. A beaver dam along a Black Creek tributary creates a rich wetland filled with meadowsweet, tussock sedge, and a 10-acre stand of Eastern Hemlock. With streams, seeps, and underground water flow, this forest plays an essential role in protecting the headwaters of Black Creek and the Genesee River.
Shaw Conservation Easement
Patrick Conservation Easement
The Worden Wetlands from above
A moss mosaic at the Shaw Conservation Easement
What is a conservation easement?
A legal agreement that a landowner makes with the Land Conservancy to protect their land forever. It limits things like development or mining, so the land stays natural, scenic, or used for farming. The land still belongs to the owner, but the protections stay in place even if the land is sold or passed on.
.jpg)
.jpg)
