Solebury Township landowners discuss their personal experiences with land preservation—the comments below reflect only a few 
of the thoughts recorded that day. Mr. Stuart Teacher (Burgess Lea):  We feel a responsibility for owning this special property.  It is a very public property, and well known. We view our living at Burgess Lea, as we will be the ones who will change, read more

"Take the time to do it right. Think carefully about what you wish to accomplish and what your future needs and desires for the land may be." Author: Commanders Jo-Ellen and Michael Greene USN (Ret.) Location: Susquehanna County Land Trust: Countryside Conservancy In December 2003, we donated a conservation easement on our 152-acre property in Thompson Township, read more

“My advice is to not hesitate...we should preserve as many farms as we can, as soon as we can.” Author: Henry E. Beiler Location: Lancaster County Land Trust: Lancaster Farmland Trust Over the years, it pained me to see farmland developed; I realize that people need homes in which to live and factories in which to work, but I also believe it’s very important to preserve read more

"Since we genuinely love this land, we hated the idea 
of building houses rather than growing hay.” Authors: Hugh and Barbara Hodge Location: Centre County Land Trust: Centre County Farmland Trust   We kept seeing more and more houses being built.  We would look up on the hills, almost on a monthly basis, and see another house going up. We felt strongly that the read more

"My husband, Charles, and I were both separately drawn to our adopted landscape and thought of nothing else than to assist in perserving it when the opportunity arose…" Author: Terry Bier Location: Butler County Land Trust: Audubon Society of Western Pennsylvania The Buffalo Creek Valley that snakes along the border of Butler and Armstrong counties is a mixture of read more

"We know that 100 years from now future owners of our property will look out over these preserved lands and see the same landscape and feel the same pride we do today." Authors: John & Susan Linton Location: York County Land Trust: Farm & Natural Lands Trust of York County For years we contemplated placing an easement to permanently preserve our property. But read more

"Thanks to the help of many people...a young boy-turned-young man, who will never grow old, has his wish that no one will ‘ruin the woods.'" Author: Beverly Grening Location: Juniata County Land Trust: Central Pennsylvania Conservancy Gregory Alan Grening was born February 19, 1971 in Lewistown, Pennsylvania to Robert C. and Beverly Lantz Grening, only son and the younger read more

"My children and grandchildren are pleased that the place that has held so many happy memories will be undisturbed..." Author: Barbara Thomas Location: Bucks County Land Trust: Bedminster Land Conservancy (now Land Trust of Bucks County) In 1965, I fell in love with 34 acres in Bedminster Township. In addition to my dream home it housed a barn suitable for beef cows, hay read more

"They never tear down houses and put in orchards." Author: Mark Berg Location: Adams County Land Trust: Land Conservancy of Adams County Occasionally, my wife, Temma, and I are asked why we donated a conservation easement on our property to the Land Conservancy of Adams County (LCAC). Our home is surrounded by ten wooded acres and located in Highland Township. It had read more

"This land has given our family many years of enjoyment...hiking, fishing, hunting, canoeing, and just soaking up nature..." Author: Faye & Carl Oberheim Land Trust: Merrill W. Linn Land & Waterways Conservancy Our journey to set up a land easement began in 1976 when we purchased a 45-acre property. The dream of having a “place in the country” had arrived. We liked read more

"If the land is sold, it cannot be retrieved. It is gone." Author: Taylor Potter Location: Centre County Land Preserved by: Centre County Agricultural Land Preservation Board The Potter Farm has been in my immediate family since 1792 when Fergus Potter received a warrant for approximately 300 acres. Today the farm is comprised of 198 acres– fifty acres woodlot and one read more

"Our land is special because it has no unique features." Author: Stephen Rannels Location: Lancaster County Land Trust: Lancaster County Conservancy About 25 years ago my wife, Sharon, and I decided to purchase 27 acres of woodland adjacent to our family cottage and its surrounding woods in northern Lancaster County. We thought it would be a good investment and an ideal read more

"Participating in this process were three generations 
of our family, all of whom share the love of the land." Author: James Holden Location: Venango County Land Trust: French Creek Valley Conservancy In 1973 my young family purchased an old dairy farm, which for many years and through two previous owners, had bottled and delivered milk and cream to residents of Franklin, read more

"Although our donation has been described by one person or another as 'an extreme sacrifice,’ ‘uncommonly generous,’ ‘naive,’ and even ‘foolhardy,’
to us there was really no other choice." Author: Jake Lea Location: Berks County Land Trust: Montgomery County Lands Trust (now Natural Lands) I work for Montgomery County Lands Trust. But long before I made land conservation read more

"This land is as much a part of our family as our children and our animals—we feel honored to have the chance to be its stewards." Author: Louis & Wanda Irion Land Trust: Northcentral Pennsylvania Conservancy & Natural Lands Our family so strongly believes in preserving open space for future generations that we have gone through the easement process two times in read more