Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy working to improve sprawling Hays Woods Park

The Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy is working to improve Hays Woods Park, the newest park in the city.

The 642-acre park — located in Pittsburgh’s Hays and St. Clair neighborhoods and Baldwin — is the second-largest park in Pittsburgh, behind Frick Park. It was formally designated as a city park in July.

The nonprofit conservancy on Wednesday received a $25,000 donation from the American Water Charitable Foundation to further its work at Hays Woods Park.

The conservancy is partnering with Allegheny Goatscape to bring goats into the wooded park. The goats are tasked with eating invasive species in about 12 acres of parkland there. The Richard King Mellon Foundation provided a $233,000 grant to fund the goats.

The Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy also is teaming up with Allegheny Cleanways to clean up illegal dumpsites throughout the park.

The donation from the American Water Charitable Foundation will help the conservancy to “improve the ecological health and vitality of this urban wilderness,” said Catherine Qureshi, president and CEO of the Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy.

They’re working to widen trails, plant native trees and pollinators and engage with the community on improvements being made at the park, Qureshi said.

“This park is such a community treasure, so close to an urban center in Pittsburgh,” said state Rep. Nick Pisciottano, who represents the area where the park is located.

State Rep. Jessica Benham, whose district is nearby, said people from the communities she represents also use the park, which attracts people from various parts of Pittsburgh and other nearby municipalities.

“This is a wonderful example of what public-private partnership can look like and the kind of investments we need to be making in our communities,” she said.

Pittsburgh officials under former Mayor Bill Peduto’s administration purchased the land that now is known as Hays Woods Park from the city’s Urban Redevelopment Authority in 2021 for $1 plus costs. The URA had purchased it about six years ago.

Previously, Beaver County businessman Chuck Betters had owned the site and planned to mine it for coal and build a racetrack and casino on the site. When those plans fell through, he sold it to the URA for $5 million, a fraction of what it was worth.

The city and URA have been working to make it into a park ever since.

“I’m really excited about what we can do from here in making this into a cornerstone of our park system,” said Jake Pawlak, director of the city’s Office of Management and Budget.

Officials have said work in the park will focus mostly on preservation. The plan for Hays Woods, which is known for its eagles, is to treat it more like a nature reserve than a park with playgrounds and athletic fields.

“Any time we can add green space, any time we can add trails, adds to the quality of life for all of us here,” Allegheny County Executive Rich Fitzgerald said, emphasizing that the park will benefit not only Pittsburgh residents, but people from all over Allegheny County.

Related:

• Pittsburgh officials celebrate purchase of Hays Woods, city's newest public park

• Hays Woods officially designated a Pittsburgh park

• Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy to partner with Allegheny Goatscape to improve Hays Woods Park