Gwynedd Wildlife Preserve expands with land donation

A donation and sale of land by Lee and Phoebe Driscoll of Lower Gwynedd Township has resulted in a major expansion of Natural Lands Trust’s Gwynedd Wildlife Preserve. The preserve, located in both Lower and Upper Gwynedd Townships, grew by a total of 45 acres thanks to a donation of 39 acres and a discounted sale to Natural Lands Trust of an additional 6 acres.

The Gwynedd Wildlife Preserve now includes a total of 279 acres of woodlands and native grasslands near the Wissahickon Creek.

“The Driscolls have dedicated much of their lives to conservation in Montgomery County,” noted Molly K. Morrison, president of Natural Lands Trust. “This donation is the latest extraordinary example of their passion for the area’s landscapes. Natural Lands Trust and all of the region’s residents are in their debt.”

The 45-acre addition lies along Swedesford Road adjacent to an existing portion of the Gwynedd Wildlife Preserve and stretches south to Route 202. The preserve in turn adjoins lands owned by the Wissahickon Valley Watershed Association (WVWA) and its Green Ribbon Trail as well as township-owned open space, creating a 450-acre green oasis in a heavily developed community. Most of the donated land is covered in mature woodlands that include ash, maple, hickory and oak species. There are existing trails on the property to which the Driscolls have long provided access. These will be added to the preserve’s trail network.

The entire 45 acres plus a neighboring 25 acres on which the Driscolls live are under a conservation easement which they donated to the WVWA in 2000. Conservation easements are a popular tool for land preservation and permanently restrict future development of privately-owned lands.

“We are very, very happy to know that those who follow us will be able to enjoy this land as we have for the nearly the last half century,” Lee and Phoebe Driscoll stated.

The Driscolls have lived on the Lower Gwynedd property since 1961. Lee Driscoll is retired Vice-Chairman and General Counsel of ARA Services, predecessor of ARAMARK. He has served on a number of corporate and non-profit boards including the United Way of Southeastern Pennsylvania where he was President. Phoebe Driscoll has been active on the Boards of several conservation organizations including the Montgomery County Lands Trust, WVWA, and the Pennsylvania Chapter of The Nature Conservancy. She is a member of the Montgomery County Open Space Board and has been instrumental in the County’s very successful open space initiatives. Phoebe received the Pennsylvania Land Trust Association’s 2006 Lifetime Leadership Award in recognition of her many years of service to the conservation community.

Purchase of the 6-acre parcel was made possible by grants from Montgomery County’s Green Fields/Green Towns program and the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources. Additional assistance was provided by Lower Gwynedd Township.