Varden Conservation Area is a Pennsylvania state park on in

Lake A lake is often a naturally occurring, relatively large and fixed body of water on or near the Earth's surface. It is localized in a basin or interconnected basins surrounded by dry land. Lakes lie completely on land and are separate from ...

and South Canaan Townships, Wayne County,

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

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 A veterinarian (vet) or veterinary surgeon is a medical professional who practices veterinary medicine. They manage a wide range of health conditions and injuries in non-human animals. Along with this, veterinarians also play a role in animal r ...

and resident of

Boothwyn, Pennsylvania Boothwyn is a census-designated place (CDP) in Upper Chichester Township, Pennsylvania, Upper Chichester Township, Delaware County, Pennsylvania, Delaware County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 4,933 at the 2010 United States Ce ...

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 Future generations are Cohort (statistics), cohorts of hypothetical people not yet born. Future generations are contrasted with current and past generations and evoked in order to encourage thinking about intergenerational equity. The Moral agenc ...

to observe and study the diverse

ecology Ecology () is the natural science of the relationships among living organisms and their Natural environment, environment. Ecology considers organisms at the individual, population, community (ecology), community, ecosystem, and biosphere lev ...

found in the Varden Conservation Area." Varden Conservation Area is near the unincorporated village of Varden on Pennsylvania Route 296, east of the

Lackawanna County Lackawanna County (; ) is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. It had a population of 215,615 in 2022. Its county seat and most populous city is Scranton. The county is part of the Northeast region of the commonwealth. The county was ...

line. 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 Joseph E. Ibberson Conservation Area is a List of Pennsylvania state parks, Pennsylvania state park in Middle Paxton Township, Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, Middle Paxton and Wayne Township, Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, Wayne Townships, Dauphin ...

and the

Boyd Big Tree Preserve Conservation Area Boyd Big Tree Preserve Conservation Area is a Pennsylvania state park in Lower Paxton and Middle Paxton Townships in Dauphin County, Pennsylvania. The land for the conservation area was donated to the state by real estate developer Alex Boy ...

both of which are in

Dauphin County Dauphin County (; Pennsylvania Dutch: Daffin Kaundi) is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 census, the population was 286,401. The county seat is Harrisburg, Pennsylvania's state capital and ninth-most populous city. ...

Nearby state parks

The following state parks are within of Varden Conservation Area:''Note: shows Varden Conservation Area'' *

Archbald Pothole State Park Archbald Pothole State Park is a Pennsylvania state park in Archbald, Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania. The focal point of the park is Archbald Pothole. The pothole is a remnant of the Wisconsin Glacial Period, deep with a largest diameter o ...

(

) *

Frances Slocum State Park Frances Slocum State Park is a List of Pennsylvania state parks, Pennsylvania state park in Kingston Township, Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, Kingston Township, Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, in the United States. Fra ...

(

Luzerne County Luzerne County is a County (United States), county in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. According to the United States Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and is water. It is Northeaste ...

) *

Gouldsboro State Park Gouldsboro State Park is a Pennsylvania state park in Coolbaugh Township, Monroe County and Lehigh Township, Wayne County, Pennsylvania in the United States. The park includes the Gouldsboro Lake. Gouldsboro State Park is located very clo ...

(

Monroe Monroe or Monroes may refer to: People and fictional characters * Monroe (surname) * Monroe (given name) * James Monroe, 5th President of the United States * Marilyn Monroe, actress and model Places United States * Monroe, Arkansas, an unincorp ...

and Wayne Counties) *

Lackawanna State Park Lackawanna State Park is a Pennsylvania state park in Benton and North Abington Townships, Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania in the United States. Lake Lackawanna, a man-made lake, is the central focus of recreation at the park. Lackawanna St ...

(Lackawanna County) *

Promised Land State Park Promised Land State Park is a Pennsylvania state park in Blooming Grove, Greene and Palmyra Townships, Pike County, Pennsylvania, in the United States. The approximately park is mostly surrounded by Delaware State Forest. It is in the Poco ...

( Pike County) *

Prompton State Park Prompton State Park is a List of Pennsylvania state parks, Pennsylvania state park on in Clinton Township, Wayne County, Pennsylvania, Clinton and Dyberry Township, Wayne County, Pennsylvania, Dyberry Townships, Wayne County, Pennsylvania, Wayne ...

(Wayne County) *

Tobyhanna State Park Tobyhanna State Park is a Pennsylvania state park on mostly in Coolbaugh Township, Monroe County, with a small portion of the park in Dreher and Lehigh townships in Wayne County, all in Pennsylvania in the United States. The park includes ...

(Monroe and Wayne Counties)

References

External links

Unofficial Varden Conservation Area website
* {{authority control State parks of Pennsylvania Protected areas established in 2001 Parks in Wayne County, Pennsylvania Conservation areas of the United States 2001 establishments in Pennsylvania Protected areas of Wayne County, Pennsylvania