Natural Lands Trust has nearly fifty years of experience helping landowners protect their land. Over the years, the organization has developed hundreds of conservation projects using donations, conservation easements, purchases and many other conservation techniques. Below are just a few examples of landowners who have generously donated conservation easements on their land.
Woodland Property Adds to Open Space Area
East Nantmeal, Chester County, PA
The northwestern corner of Chester County is one of the county’s most beautiful but is under growing threat from development spreading quickly west and north from Exton. In the heart of this area, East Nantmeal Township is striving to preserve its rich ecological resources. As a result of the donation of a conservation easement to Natural Lands Trust, an important element of the Township’s comprehensive plan has been fulfilled. The landowners chose to protect their 314-acre wooded property and relied on existing tax deductions to help make up for the land value they sacrificed in donating the easement. This woodland expands existing protected lands, including parcels under conservation easement to French and Pickering Conservation Trust and the Brandywine Conservancy and creates a forested link between Great Marsh, the County’s largest wetland to the west, and Warwick Furnace Farm, a mosaic of woodlands and farm fields to the north. The end result is more than 1,000 acres of protected forest in the area. The newly eased property also includes an “exceptional value” creek as described by the PA Department of Environmental Protection. This creek is a tributary to the state-designated “Scenic River,” French Creek.
Small Farm in the Highlands of Northern Bucks County
Springfield Township, Bucks County, PA
The rugged, forested Highlands Region of Pennsylvania extends from the Delaware River 35 miles north of Philadelphia westward across the Susquehanna to South Mountain north of Gettysburg, then south to the Maryland line. In Northern Bucks County, PA, a landowner recently donated an easement on his small 35 acre farm. The charitable deduction he was able to take made the contribution possible. Springfield Township was able to help by covering out-of-pockets cost for the transaction. The landowner, excited by what he was able to do, is now active in the Township’s Open Space Committee, and is working to protect other similar lands.
Donation Helps Fulfill County Open Space Plan
Marlborough Township, Montgomery County, PA
The Open Space Plan for Montgomery County identifies the Unami Forest area in the northeastern part of the county as one of the most vulnerable and important woodlands remaining there. Landowners with a 43-acre parcel in the heart of the Unami Forest chose to donate a conservation easement on their land to Natural Lands Trust, adding to the network of protected lands nearby. Importantly, this and many other parcels in the area have been preserved via donated easement, ensuring fulfillment of a public policy goal – the County Open Space Plan – without public expense or regulation. The availability of a tax deduction for the value of the easement was an important factor in the landowners’ decision to make the donation.
Farmland near Natural Lands Trust’s Stroud Preserve
East Bradford Township, Chester County, PA
Just west of West Chester, PA, Natural Lands Trust manages the 574-acre Stroud Preserve. This land not only protects the watershed of several headwater tributaries of the Brandywine Creek, it also is a site where the Stroud Water Research Center conducts long term research into the relationship of land use and water quality. Recently an adjoining landowner of 60 acres of farmland donated a conservation easement to Natural Lands Trust. This parcel includes a significant section of the East Branch of the Brandywine Creek. The permanent conservation of this land will add to the emerging protected corridor of the Brandywine, ensuring future water quality and recreational uses of the Creek for generations to come.
Landowner’s Generosity Enables Preservation of Pennsylvania Highlands Property
Milford Township, Bucks County, PA
In northern Bucks and Montgomery counties, the Pennsylvania Highlands area contains a remarkably unfragmented woodland called the Unami Forest. Identified by multiple agencies as one of the most important remaining wooded areas in the region, Natural Lands Trust has made conservation here a high priority for the past five years. Recently, a long-time resident generously donated more than 60% of the value of a conservation easement on a 37-acre property in the heart of the Unami Forest. Funds from the Bucks County Natural Areas Program funded the remainder of the costs. The landowner took a tax deduction to help make the transaction financially feasible.
More Landowner Stories:
Couple Donates Bucks County Farm
Easement Preserves Countryside, Forever
