Varden Conservation Area

Varden Conservation Area
IUCN category III (natural monument or feature)
Varden Conservation Area
Location of Varden Conservation Area in Pennsylvania
Location	Wayne, Pennsylvania, United States
Coordinates	41°29′12″N 75°23′21″W / 41.48667°N 75.38917°W / 41.48667; -75.38917Coordinates: 41°29′12″N 75°23′21″W / 41.48667°N 75.38917°W / 41.48667; -75.38917
Area	430 acres (170 ha)^[1]
Elevation	1,253 ft (382 m)^[1]
Established	2001
Named for	the village of Varden
Governing body	Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources
Website	Varden Conservation Area

Varden Conservation Area is a Pennsylvania state park on 343 acres (139 ha) in Lake and South Canaan Townships, Wayne County, Pennsylvania in the United States. The conservation area is currently under development. The land was donated to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania in December 2001 by Dr. Mead Shaffer a veterinarian and resident of Boothwyn, Pennsylvania in Delaware County. Dr. Shaffer stated his reason for donating the land, "Environmental education always has been a primary concern of mine. I trust this land will allow present and future generations to observe and study the diverse ecology found in the Varden Conservation Area."^[2] Varden Conservation Area is near the unincorporated village of Varden on Pennsylvania Route 296, east of the Lackawanna County line.^[3]

A conservation area is different from a typical state park. Conservation areas have much less development on the lands than a state park. They are large tracts of land with few improvements, a lack of through roads and the recreational facilities are minimal. There is an effort to manage the resources with minimal development of the park. Other conservation areas in Pennsylvania are the Joseph E. Ibberson Conservation Area and the Boyd Big Tree Preserve Conservation Area both of which are in Dauphin County.^[3]

Nearby state parks[]

The following state parks are within 30 miles (48 km) of Varden Conservation Area:^[4]^[5]^[6]

Archbald Pothole State Park (Lackawanna County)
Frances Slocum State Park (Luzerne County)
Gouldsboro State Park (Monroe and Wayne Counties)
Lackawanna State Park (Lackawanna County)
Promised Land State Park (Pike County)
Prompton State Park (Wayne County)
Tobyhanna State Park (Monroe and Wayne Counties)

References[]

^ ^a ^b "Varden Conservation Area". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey. August 30, 2007. Retrieved 2007-12-13.
^ "Varden Conservation Area announcement". Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources. Retrieved 2006-11-25.
^ ^a ^b "Varden Conservation Area". Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources. Retrieved 2006-10-25.
^ "Find a Park by Region (interactive map)". Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources. Retrieved November 18, 2011.
^ 2007 General Highway Map Wayne County Pennsylvania (PDF) (Map). 1:65,000. Pennsylvania Department of Transportation, Bureau of Planning and Research, Geographic Information Division. Retrieved 2007-07-27.^{[permanent dead link]} Note: shows Varden Conservation Area
^ Michels, Chris (1997). "Latitude/Longitude Distance Calculation". Northern Arizona University. Retrieved 2008-04-23.

External links[]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Varden Conservation Area.

Unofficial Varden Conservation Area website
"Varden Conservation Area official map" (PDF). (268.2 KB)

Protected areas of Pennsylvania

Federal

NPS National Historical Parks & National Historic Sites	Allegheny Portage Railroad NHS Edgar Allan Poe NHS Eisenhower NHS First State NHP Friendship Hill NHS Gloria Dei (Old Swedes') Church NHS Hopewell Furnace NHS Independence NHP Steamtown NHS Valley Forge NHP
National Memorials	Benjamin Franklin Flight 93 Johnstown Flood Thaddeus Kosciuszko
National Battlefields and National Military Parks	Fort Necessity NB Gettysburg NMP
National Trails	Appalachian Trail
Other protected areas	Allegheny National Recreation Area Delaware and Lehigh National Heritage Corridor Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area Lackawanna Heritage Valley National and State Heritage Area Middle Delaware National Scenic River Susquehanna National Heritage Area Upper Delaware Scenic and Recreational River
National Forests	Allegheny
USFS National Historic Sites	Grey Towers
National Wildlife Refuges	Cherry Valley Erie John Heinz Ohio River Islands

State

State Parks	Allegheny Islands Archbald Pothole Bald Eagle Beltzville Bendigo Benjamin Rush Big Pocono Big Spring Black Moshannon Blue Knob Boyd Big Tree Buchanan's Birthplace Bucktail Caledonia Canoe Creek Chapman Cherry Springs Clear Creek Codorus Colonel Denning Colton Point Cook Forest Cowans Gap Delaware Canal Denton Hill Elk Erie Bluffs Evansburg Fort Washington Fowlers Hollow Frances Slocum French Creek Gifford Pinchot Gouldsboro Greenwood Furnace Hickory Run Hillman Hills Creek Hyner Run Hyner View Jacobsburg Jennings Joseph E. Ibberson Kettle Creek Keystone Kings Gap Kinzua Bridge Kooser Lackawanna Laurel Hill Laurel Mountain Laurel Ridge Laurel Summit Lehigh Gorge Leonard Harrison Linn Run Little Buffalo Little Pine Locust Lake Lyman Run Marsh Creek Maurice K. Goddard McCalls Dam McConnells Mill Memorial Lake Milton Mont Alto Moraine Mt. Pisgah Nescopeck Neshaminy Nockamixon Nolde Forest Norristown Farm Ohiopyle Oil Creek Ole Bull Parker Dam Patterson Penn-Roosevelt Pine Grove Furnace Poe Paddy Poe Valley Point Presque Isle Prince Gallitzin Promised Land Prompton Prouty Place Pymatuning R. B. Winter Raccoon Creek Ralph Stover Ravensburg Reeds Gap Ricketts Glen Ridley Creek Ryerson Station S. B. Elliott Salt Springs Samuel S. Lewis Sand Bridge Shawnee Shikellamy Sinnemahoning Sizerville Susquehanna Susquehannock Swatara Tobyhanna Trough Creek Tuscarora Tyler Upper Pine Bottom Varden Warriors Path Washington Crossing Whipple Dam White Clay Creek Worlds End Yellow Creek
State Forests	Bald Eagle Buchanan Clear Creek Cornplanter Delaware Elk Forbes Gallitzin Loyalsock Michaux Moshannon Pinchot Rothrock Sproul Susquehannock Tiadaghton Tioga Tuscarora Weiser William Penn
Scenic Rivers	Bear Run French Creek Lehigh River LeTort Spring Run Lick Run Lower Brandywine Octoraro Creek Pine Creek Schuylkill River Stony Creek Tucquan Creek Tulpehocken Creek Yellow Breeches Creek
State Game Lands	12 13 14 24 25 26 28 29 30 31 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 47 48 49 51 52 55 58 60 73 80 97 104 105 106 108 110 115 118 137 147 148 158 166 173 182 189 203 226 247 249 256 259 261 274 280 285 287 314 315 324 329
Wild areas	Hammersley Quebec Run Quehanna White Mountain

Other

Other	Anders Run Natural Area Forrest H. Duttlinger Natural Area Hawk Mountain Sanctuary Hoverter and Sholl Box Huckleberry Natural Area Johnson Run Natural Area Stone Valley Recreation Area Trexler Nature Preserve Wykoff Run Natural Area
Hiking trails	Appalachian Baker Black Forest Central Mountains Shared Use Darlington Eastern Continental Five Star Glacier Ridge Great Eastern Greene River Horse-Shoe Indian Creek Valley Loyalsock Mid State Standing Stone Mason-Dixon North Country Ohio River Old Loggers Path Pinchot Potomac Heritage Quehanna Rachel Carson Sheepskin Susquehannock Thunder Swamp Tuscarora Valley Forge Historical West Rim Wissahickon Youghiogheny River
Rail trails	Abandoned Pennsylvania Turnpike Beaver River East Coast Greenway Five Star Ghost Town Great Allegheny Passage Great Shamokin Path Greene River Indian Creek Valley Lebanon Valley Lehigh Gorge Liberty Bell Lower Montour Ohio River Palmer Bikeway Panhandle Perkiomen Pine Creek Plainfield Township Schuylkill River Sheepskin Struble Susquehanna Warrior Switchback Three Rivers Heritage York Country Heritage Youghiogheny River
Nature centers	Abernathy Field Station Beechwood Farms Nature Reserve Churchville Nature Center John Heinz National Wildlife Refuge at Tinicum Great Valley Nature Center Hawk Mountain Sanctuary Jacobsburg Environmental Education Center Jennings Environmental Education Center Kings Gap Environmental Education and Training Center Lacawac Lehigh Gap Nature Center Nescopeck State Park Nolde Forest Environmental Education Center Nurture Nature Center Shaver's Creek Environmental Center Tom Ridge Environmental Center Tyler Arboretum Welkinweir Whites' Woods Nature Center

Category
Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources
Philadelphia
Pittsburgh
Commons