Stewardship Handbook Now Available

Natural Lands Trust has published The Stewardship Handbook for Natural Lands in Southeastern Pennsylvania, a comprehensive guide to ‘green’ land management.

The Stewardship Handbook is a compilation of the knowledge gained from the organization’s four decades of experience managing its 20,000-acre network of nature preserves in the region. The 220-page book serves as a resource for professional land managers and planners as well as to homeowners seeking to adopt a greener approach to caring for their properties.

“Development and other human activities have had a significant impact on our region’s natural resources,” said David Steckel, co-author of the book and Senior Stewardship Planner for Natural Lands Trust. “Fortunately, with the right knowledge and tools, it is possible to create healthy, beautiful natural areas that provide countless benefits and, in some cases, even save money in the long run.”

The Stewardship Handbook is available at www.natlands.org/handbook for purchase as a color, spiral bound book. It is also available for free download by chapters.

The book provides a detailed overview of the region’s major landscape types, common land management issues, and tools and resources for addressing those issues including ‘how-to’ guides covering topics like managing deer impacts, controlling invasive plants, forest and meadow restoration, trail design and much more. It also contains a reference listing of more than 300 locally available native plant species that are ideal for restoration and landscaping projects.

Holly Harper, Natural Lands Trust’s Director of Stewardship Planning and co-author of the Stewardship Handbook noted that it is the most comprehensive summary of local stewardship issues and management techniques currently available. “The information in this book can help anyone – whether they are responsible for one acre or a thousand – take steps toward better stewardship,” Harper added.

The guidance provided in the book has been used and tested in the field by Natural Lands Trust’s team of land managers and ecologists over many years. It has also been shared with dozens of the organization’s public and private clients, including the Winterthur Museum and Country Estate, Hawk Mountain Sanctuary, Swarthmore College, and Lower Merion Township. In 2008, Natural Lands Trust launched the Center for Conservation Landowners to make a variety of consulting services and educational materials like the Stewardship Handbook more widely available.

Molly Morrison, president of Natural Lands Trust said, “The handbook is truly an extension of what we have learned through our stewardship programs. There is more to conservation than protecting landscapes and habitats from development; the land must be properly cared for, as well. Our hope is that tools like the Stewardship Handbook will inspire good stewardship practices and, ultimately, instill current and future generations with respect and admiration for nature.”

In addition to Natural Lands Trust’s own land management and scientific staff, the authors drew on the expertise of noted conservation biologist Roger Latham, PhD and senior botanist at the Morris Arboretum, Ann Rhodes, PhD.

The Stewardship Handbook for Natural Lands in Southeastern Pennsylvania was made possible by generous support from the Claneil Foundation, The McLean Contributionship, the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, West Vincent Township, the William Penn Foundation, and a generous individual.

For more information about stewardship guidance available through Natural Lands Trust’s Center for Conservation Landowners, visit www.conservationlandowners.org or contact Drew Gilchrist at info@natlands.org.