[1] The protected area is actually an assemblage of six tracts owned by a combination of the Nature Conservancy, the State of Pennsylvania, two counties, a township, and private owners.

[2][1] The second-largest is Goat Hill Serpentine Barrens, jointly owned by the Nature Conservancy and the Pennsylvania Forestry Department (as a unit of William Penn State Forest), and the third-largest, Chrome Serpentine Barrens, is jointly owned by Elk Township and the Nature Conservancy.

[2] The site has been named an Outstanding Geologic Feature of Pennsylvania.

[3] In the 19th century, the Pennsylvania–Maryland serpentine barrens were mined for chromite and magnesite.

[3] Other serpentine barrens in the mid-Atlantic region of North America include Soldiers Delight Barrens in Maryland and some scattered sites on Staten Island, including Serpentine Ridge Nature Preserve.