Brandywine Conservancy Ends Year Celebrating New Conservation Milestones, Including 70,000 Acres Permanently Preserved

On January 18, the Brandywine Conservancy announced it ended 2022 with more than 500 total conservation easements held by the organization, while also exceeding 70,000 acres of land that have been permanently preserved through both direct and facilitated easements. 

Staff completed a total of 32 conservation projects throughout the year, resulting in the protection of 1,033 additional acres of land in Chester, Delaware and Lancaster counties in Pennsylvania.

The projects in 2022 included eight new conservation easements held by the Brandywine-- bringing the organization’s total to 511 easements—and 13 facilitated transactions made in partnership and close collaboration with multiple public and private partners. 

“For more than 55 years, the Brandywine Conservancy has been a leader in land conservation throughout our region,” said Stephanie Armpriester, Brandywine’s Director of Conservation & Stewardship. “These new milestones further cement our achievements in conservation. It is a collective effort from our conservation-minded community, individual landowners who have personally committed to permanent protection of their family lands, and private and public partners who have supported conservation policies and funding at the local, county, state and federal levels.”

Noting the achievements of the Brandywine Conservancy, Chester County Commissioners Marian Moskowitz, Josh Maxwell and Michelle Kichline said, “When it comes to the importance of land preservation, Chester County ‘gets it’.  Our residents appreciate it, municipalities and landowners support it, and we have respected, professional organizations like Brandywine Conservancy whose focus and funding contributes greatly to Chester County’s preservation efforts. We congratulate, commend, and thank the leaders, staff and volunteers of Brandywine Conservancy on their milestone achievements.”

One of the transactions from the past year included placing an easement on 16 acres of East Bradford Township’s Starr Farm, a historic site that is designated as a visually significant landscape by the township. 

This property includes farm fields, meadows, steep slopes and a cluster of historic 18th and 19th century structures—which are protected Township Class I Historic Resources. 

East Bradford Township also acquired additional acreage adjacent to this property to comprise the “Starr Farm Park." A public trail easement on this property along Skelp Level Road will connect to existing trails in the area.

Other highlights included an easement donation of 95+ acres in Highland Township, with assistance from the Cheshire Land Preservation Fund; collaborating with West Bradford Township to preserve 144+ combined acres across several properties with key natural resources and productive farmland within the township; and working behind-the-scenes with Elk Township to facilitate the acquisition and transfer of a 166+ acre property to the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources to add to the newly created Big Elk Creek State Park.

"We extend our congratulations to Brandywine Conservancy’s hardworking staff and volunteers for their outstanding conservation achievements of 2022 and their ongoing stewardship of more than 70,000 acres for the benefit of all," added Andy Loza, Executive Director of WeConservePA.

In addition to achievements in conservation, staff working in the Brandywine’s community services department also celebrated notable wins in 2022. 

“Brandywine Conservancy staff partnered with 26 municipalities in Pennsylvania and Delaware on natural resource planning and land restoration efforts—which included updating municipal comprehensive plans, reducing pollution from stormwater runoff to improve water quality, and utilizing new climate resiliency tools to help local governments with adapting to and mitigating the impacts of climate change,” added Grant DeCosta, Brandywine’s Director of Community Services. “These efforts strengthen the preservation accomplishments of our easements and contribute to a standout year for the Brandywine that we look forward to building on in the new year.”

For more information on programs, initiatives and upcoming events, visit the Brandywine Conservancy website.  Click Here to sign up for regular updates from the Conservancy (middle of the webpage.)  Visit the Conservancy’s Blog, Like the Conservancy on Facebook and Follow them on Instagram.

The Conservancy currently holds over 485 conservation and agricultural easements and has facilitated the permanent preservation of more than 70,000 acres of land.

(Photo: Starr Farm in East Bradford Township, Chester County.)

NewsClip:

-- DailyLocal.com: Brandywine Conservancy Celebrates 70,000 Acres Permanently Preserved

[Posted: January 25, 2023]  PA Environment Digest