Description
Overlooking Altoona, TNC's former Brush Mountain Preserve is part of a large, intact oak–hickory forest recognized as a high‑priority conservation area within the Central Appalachians. It is highlighted in the Blair County Natural Heritage Inventory as both a County Natural Heritage Area and a Landscape Conservation Area.
In 2016, TNC and the Pennsylvania Game Commission conducted the site’s first prescribed burn to support fire‑dependent habitats and improve forest health.
Brush Mountain provides important habitat for rare wildlife. It forms part of the nightly foraging range of the federally endangered Indiana bat and supports the largest maternity colony of little brown bats in Pennsylvania, which roost at nearby Canoe Creek State Park, designating the area as part of the Canoe Creek Important Mammal Area.
The mountain also anchors the southern end of the Bald Eagle Ridge Important Bird Area, a key migratory route for raptors and neotropical songbirds. Other species found here include wild turkey, black bear, the state-endangered Allegheny woodrat, and the timber rattlesnake a species of conservation concern.
TNC is proud to have contributed to the long‑term protection of this ecologically significant landscape.
