420 more acres protected in Pennsylvania and New Jersey

Natural Lands Trust recently preserved over 420 acres of natural areas in Chester, Monroe and Northampton Counties, Pennsylvania and Salem County, New Jersey.

The organization has purchased 70 acres in New Jersey that adds to the Burden Hill Forest Preserve. In Pennsylvania, six landowners have aided in preserving a total of 353 acres by entering into conservation easements, legal agreements that limit future development.

“We are very pleased and grateful that landowners and communities are continuing to conserve critical open space,” said Molly Morrison, President of Natural Lands Trust. “Thinking about the future can be difficult during challenging economic times, but preserving our region’s natural assets is an investment that never loses its value.”

In Chester County, the recently-protected lands include a property owned by the Guthrie Family in East Bradford Township. It is situated at the headwaters of Valley Creek and includes 48 acres of field, meadow and woodland. Once constructed, a trail across the property will connect Harmony Hill Road and Copeland School Road. Funds for the conservation easement were provided by East Bradford Township.

The property of John and Mary Koeppe in New Garden Township was also preserved. The seven acre property is on a steep, wooded knoll that overlooks the village of Landenberg and the East Branch of the White Clay Creek. The property’s old beech woodlands are within the National Wild and Scenic River Corridor for the White Clay Creek. This is the first project to be completed by New Garden Townships’ Open Space Program

Situated in Franklin Township, the combined properties of Downs Land Management LLC, Scott Downs, and the Goodwin Family will bolster existing protected lands in the White Clay Creek watershed. Preservation of the 43-acres will increase access to the federally designated “Wild and Scenic River” ecosystem while providing another link in the County’s recreation corridor. In addition, Franklin and London Grove Townships have purchased separate but adjoining properties that altogether result in an 81-acre protected area along White Clay Creek. Funds for this conservation easement were provided by the Chester County Preservation Partnership Program, PA Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR), and Franklin Township.

In Monroe County the 245-acre Camp Acahela Scout Reservation is the 2nd camp placed under conservation easement in a partnership between the Northeastern Pennsylvania Council of the Boy Scouts of America and Natural Lands Trust. Acahela, which according to legend means “the joining of waters” in the language of the Delaware Lenape, is located at the convergence of the Lehigh River and Tobyhanna Creek. The woodland and plains that surround the camp provide a habitat for many species, including the endangered Bald Eagle and Peregrine Falcon, Pileated Woodpeckers, Black Bear, and Bobcats. The camp is also located near Natural Lands Trust’s 3,400-acre Bear Creek Preserve. Funding for the easement was provided by DCNR, the Monroe County Open Space Program, Tobyhanna Township, and the Northeastern Pennsylvania Council.

In Northampton County a 10-acre conservation easement was donated by Fred W. Mebus II and Carole E. Mebus, both of whom are active in conservation in the area; Carole as a volunteer for Natural Lands Trust at the Mariton Wildlife Sanctuary, and Fred as a township supervisor. The parcel in Williams Township contains an abandoned quarry that has been reclaimed by the forest that encompasses the property. This acreage adjoins two other recently preserved properties that total 255 acres within a surrounding forested area that has been identified as a conservation priority in the county.

In Quinton Township, Salem County, NJ, Natural Lands Trust purchased a 70-acre property next to Elkinton Pond that includes forest and wetlands which are home to two rare plants: Southern Adder’s Tongue, a fern, and Allegheny Chinkapin, a small tree which is classified as endangered in New Jersey. The property, previously owned by Luciano and Nicola, LP, is part of the larger Burden Hill Forest, a 15,000-acre landscape which Natural Lands Trust and other conservation organizations have prioritized for protection. With this purchase, Natural Lands Trust’s Burden Hill Forest Preserve expands to 610 acres with an additional 131 acres protected by conservation easement. Funding for the purchase came from the New Jersey Green Acres Program, the William Penn Foundation, and the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation.