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The
Lacawac Sanctuary
The Lacawac Sanctuary was
established in 1966 as a private foundation with the purpose of
preserving Lake Lacawac and its watershed area.
Located in the Pocono region of Northeastern Pennsylvania,
this is a private 500 acre preserve dedicated to conservation, public
education, and research. Visitors
can tour the Lacawac Sanctuary and experience to tranquility and
beauty of nature undisturbed.
Tours of the lands and historic buildings are available,
and there are often interesting and informative lectures and demonstration
series hosted on site.
The National Park
Service designated Lake Lacawac as a Registered National Natural
Landmark in 1968. This
was in recognition of the value of the Sanctuary as an example of
a swiftly vanishing habitat.
Diverse aquatic and
terrestrial habitats are supported by Lacawac Sanctuary and the
53 acre lake it includes, Lake Lacawac.
There are over 525 acres of second-growth hemlock and oak
forests, forested peatlands, and two small ponds.
Sandstone ledges lead to the shore of Lake Wallenpaupack.
This lake, untouched
by the agriculture and residential development that has disrupted
so many natural environments, is a mesotropic lake.
This lake lays in the basin formed by the late-Wisconsinan
glacier nearly 15,000 years ago.
The lake is biologically rich and diverse, with various planktonic,
littoral, and benthic lifeforms.
At least nine species of fish have been identified in the
lake, along with beavers, muskrat, and otter. Lake Lacawac is a lifesource for white-tailed deer, porcupines,
turkeys, skunks, and black bears in the area.
A considerable amount
of research is generated at the Lacawac Sanctuary, much of it in
conjunction with Lehigh University.
Lehigh University has cultivated a continuing comparative
lake studies program involving Lake Lacawac and two other privately
owned lakes. Wildlife
biologists cooperating with the Pennsylvania Game Commission have
studied black bear, river otter, and waterfowl, among others, at
the Lacawac Sanctuary.
A
variety of out buildings dot the pristine natural terrain of the
Lacawac Sanctuary. The
Lodge, Carriage House, Ice House, and others were built in 1903
by a US Congressman from Scranton, William Connell.
Land consolidation leading to the development of the Wallenpaupack
reservoir, now known as Lake
Wallenpaupack, led to the transference of the property, eventually
to its current operators, the Pennsylvania Power and Light Company.
  
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