On July 28, North Branch Land Trust (NBLT), in partnership with the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR) and the Wilkes-Barre Family YMCA, completed a 
conservation project on the YMCA’s Camp Kresge property in Dennison Township, north of White Haven. The purpose of Camp Kresge’s 647-acre conservation easement is to protect the natural and scenic areas of the camp, as well as the Nescopeck Creek watershed area. This is NBLT’s third-largest conservation easement in its 24-year history. The preserved 647-acre parcel of land connects with state game land and a portion of Nescopeck State Park. The project was funded through the DCNR Bureau of Recreation and Conservation’s Community Conservation Partnership grant program.
In 1953 the YMCA youth camp was moved from Blakeslee to its present site and named Camp Kresge after S.S. Kresge, who donated the costs of constructing the camp buildings. Since that time the YMCA has been instrumental in providing thousands of children from all socioeconomic backgrounds with the opportunity to learn about and enjoy the natural environment of northeastern Pennsylvania.
The staff and board of directors of North Branch Land Trust would like to thank the Wilkes-Barre Family YMCA and DCNR for helping to conserve this important natural area.
