Portfolio

Lyme Pennsylvania Headwaters

In 2017 and 2018, Lyme acquired 67,500 acres of premium timberland in North Central Pennsylvania and Southwest New York in two transactions. To finance the transaction, Lyme accessed financing from conservation partners, including the state of Pennsylvania’s clean water revolving loan fund, PENNVEST, and The Conservation Fund. In exchange, Lyme donated a conservation easement on 9,400 acres, agreed to fund $7500,000 of acid mine drainage remediation work, and made 51,000 additional acres available for working forest conservation easement purchases by the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources over a seven year-period. Over 63,000 acres of the property are being managed for sustainable timber production and as if it were subject to a single, comprehensive conservation easement. The lands grow some of the finest quality hardwood sawtimber in the world, including black cherry, sugar maple, red maple, ash, and northern red oak. Under the terms of current and contemplated working forest conservation easements, the lands provide hunting, fishing, and other recreational opportunities. The property is managed and certified to the SFI ® and FSC ® Forest Management Standards to ensure sustainable management and conservation of the forest resource.

In 2018, Lyme made a significant minority investment in the Emporium Hardwoods sawmill in Emporium, Pennsylvania that was recently rebuilt with state-of-the-are design and advanced technology and employs over 100 people locally. In 2019, Lyme made a significant minority investment in Northern Appalachian Log and Forestry, a locally managed, locally controlled log marketing and export business based in Coudersport, Pennsylvania. These operating business sit in the middle of Lyme’s timberland ownership in the region.

In 2020, Lyme acquired 92,000 acres of additional forestland in North Central Pennsylvania and Southwest New York. The land is located primarily in Potter, McKean, Cameron, and Elk counties, Pennsylvania, and the acquisition brings Lyme’s ownership in the region to nearly 160,000 acres spanning fourteen counties in Pennsylvania and five counties in New York. The acquisition reflects Lyme’s commitment to sustainable forest management and the forest products supply chain in Pennsylvania.

Three Rivers Forest Management, a Lyme portfolio company based in Coudersport, Pennsylvania, manages Lyme’s timberlands in the region. David Andrus serves as the General Manager. Lyme’s investments in Pennsylvania are supporting hundreds of jobs in logging, trucking, and sawmilling.

Location
Butler, Cameron, Clarion, Clinton, Crawford, Elk, Erie, Forest, Jefferson, McKean, Mercer, Potter, Venango, and Warren Counties, Pennsylvania; Allegany, Cattaraugus, Chautauqua, Erie, and Stueben Counties, New York
Acreage
159,000
Lyme Pennsylvania Headwaters