Delaware Canal State Park Location: Washington's Crossing (Bucks County) Organization: Wildlands Conservancy Near the very banks where George Washington launched his nation-defining attack, an 80,000 square-foot shopping plaza was planned. Businessman Sam Marrazzo had purchased 22 wooded acres wedged between Washington's Crossing Historic State Park and the Delaware Canal read more

State Game Lands 321 and Sproul State Forest Location: Pottersdale (Clearfield County) Organizations: Northcentral Pennsylvania Conservancy and Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation It's hard to call anyone in a township of 34 a trespasser—that just wouldn't be polite. Folks in rural Pottersdale took the freedom to roam in forests and streams for granted. So did the people of read more

Gerstemeir Farm Location: Worcester Township (Montgomery County) Organization: Montgomery County Lands Trust (now Natural Lands) Fieldstone buildings grace the rolling farmland of Worcester Township, Montgomery County. Two- hundred year old white stucco farmhouses line winding roads, shaded by towering oaks. Bank barns, historic villages, and wide-open expanses are found read more

Tannersville Cranberry Bog Location: Tannersville (Monroe County) Organization: The Nature Conservancy On spring days, the Tannersville Cranberry Bog belongs to fourth-graders. In the bog they see their lessons come alive. They touch plants in the dense foliage that they only knew from pictures and words. The young explorers have no idea of the struggle to save the wetland read more

Witmer and Lightner Properties Location: Cumberland County Organization: Central Pennsylvania Conservancy Blue Mountain stretches over 200 miles from northern New Jersey down through 11 Pennsylvania counties to the Maryland state line. For hundreds of communities it provides scenic beauty, hunting, and fishing. It also hosts the world-famous Appalachian Trail. The read more

The Ponds of Woodward Location: Chadds Ford (Delaware County) Organization: Natural Lands (formerly Natural Lands Trust) When Denise and Greg Bayley sit in their backyard, they are surrounded with quiet and a 50-acre apple orchard. The view from their lawn chairs is row upon row of gnarly trees set into gentle rolling hills. "You can breathe here," Denise says. "We both read more

Green Ribbon Trail and Preserve Location: Montgomery County Organization: Wissahickon Valley Watershed Association One by one, the fields and farms of Ellen Lea's childhood are disappearing. Ellen and her brothers had spent their childhood days riding horses, frolicking in fields or chasing crawfish in the Wissahickon Creek. Their great uncle's farm was a 300-acre natural read more

Dead Man's Hollow Location: McKeesport (Allegheny County) Organization: Allegheny Land Trust Dead Man's Hollow Wildlife Preserve—400 acres of protected forest and streams—provides peace and quiet to its visitors. Factories, strip malls, roads and traffic seem a world away. Dead Man's Hollow too could have been developed. However, the Allegheny Land Trust worked read more

Tucquan Glen Location: Lancaster County Organization: Lancaster County Conservancy Like Lancaster County's quilts, the Tucquan Glen Nature Preserve is a work of art comprised of many pieces. The Lancaster County Conservancy protected a square of land here and another there—slowly and persistently stitching together 12 parcels into the popular 338-acre preserve, plus two read more

Montandon Marsh Location: Northumberland County Organization: Merill W. Linn Land & Waterways Conservancy In the 1970s, when Tony Markunas bought a piece of Montandon Marsh, he didn't see the wetland. He didn't even know what a wetland really was. "I didn't know how interesting and valuable wetlands are," he said. His eye was on the high-quality sand and gravel read more

Moraine State Park Location: Butler County Organization: Western Pennsylvania Conservancy A convergence of glaciers 14,000 years ago gave Muddy Creek its hills and valleys. Industry gave it its scars. A meeting of minds in the 1950s transformed the land yet again. Community leaders envisioned a beautiful park rising from Muddy Creek Valley's mine-scarred surface. And read more

Hall Cave Location: Huntingdon County Organization: Mid-Atlantic Karst Conservancy Hall Cave has been a popular caving site since the 1960s. Innumerable cavers have trekked across Bill and Martha Anderson's land to visit the cave. Bill serenaded many of them. His harmonica renditions of "You are My Sunshine" and other old-time songs are legendary in the caving community. read more

Community Gardens Location: Philadelphia Organization: Neighborhood Gardens Trust (formerly the Neighborhood Gardens Association) James Taylor wakes at 4 a.m., crosses his street of tidy row homes, and opens the gate to Glenwood Green Acres. Four acres of green purpose meet his pale gray eyes. If Taylor turned his gaze north, the outline of Center City Philadelphia read more

Spring Hills Farm Location: North Abington Township (Lackawanna County) Organization: Countryside Conservancy Margaret recognized the challenges in keeping the farm when she and her sisters took title in 1983. Margaret is the main laborer of the land and her sisters and 88-year-old father are active partners. None of the family members want to see the farm developed. "I read more