(Reading) -- A Berks County preservation project designed to protect several hundred acres of rural forest land is also expected to place nearly $1 million in the hands of landowners. Through the federal government's Highlands Conservation Act and the state Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, landowners will receive the money to conserve more than 580 acres in the Oley Hills region outside of Reading. Tami Shimp is with the Berks County Conservancy, one of the nonprofits that helped obtain the funds. She says the land is not just a spot for hiking, paddling, and fishing. "The headwaters of five exceptional value streams are home there," she says. "'Exceptional value' is the highest level of recognition and protection that you can receive in Pennsylvania, so to have them all concentrate in that one area is unusual." Shimp says the group expects to announce another major preservation project in the region later this year. About 2,800 acres in the Oley Hills have been preserved to date.