Our Impact

Since our founding in 1995, we’ve worked with over 130 local landowners to preserve more than 13,275 acres of farmland, meadows, forests, streams, and historical spaces — forever!

The lands we’ve protected surround over 55 miles of Adams County streams and creeks, helping keep those waters clear and cool by limiting disturbance and the removal of vegetation in the riparian buffer.

But land preservation preserves more than simply land — read on for more!

13,275 Acres Preserved

We’ve preserved over five miles of land along the banks of Marsh Creek and 2.4 miles along Conewago Creek. Many of these preservation projects include conservation plans that help landowners improve the health of the streams and creeks that pass through their land. These improvements increase the quality of our drinking water, decrease the cost of water treatment for county residents, and enhance the quality of water as far afield as the Chesapeake Bay.

Truth be told, every one of the more than 13,000 acres we’ve preserved in our work with local landowners protects vital habitat for insects, birds, animals, and plants, all of which provide crucial pollination and biological control services to agriculture. Some of the most important habitats protected in our preserved lands include that of our region’s birds. To date we’ve preserved more than 5,750 acres of the vitally important Southern Adams County Grasslands — habitat for the Eastern Meadowlark, Short-eared Owl, Upland Sandpiper, Loggerhead Shrike, and other bird species. We’ve also preserved more than 1,000 acres in the South Mountain/Caledonia State Park & Michaux State Forest regions in the northwest corner of the county, which provide habitat to bird species like the Wood Duck, Hooded Warbler, and Green Heron. Healthy bird habitats are a sign of healthy wildlife habitats in general, since ecologists routinely use bird populations to gauge the health of the local ecosystem at large.

$7.7* MILLION IN FEDERAL FUNDING

* Federal funds are double the local match put toward these projects.

Many of our preservation projects have included federal, local, and/or private reimbursements to the landowner in exchange for the development value they forego when they preserve their land. Since 2003, our land conservation projects have brought nearly $8 million in federal funding to the county for these reimbursements—funding that otherwise would not have come to the county—boosting the local economy as landowners use the funds to replace barn roofs, upgrade farming equipment, expand their farming operations, and more. What’s more, this funding comes into the county without incurring the costs that typically go along with developing land, such as infrastructure improvements, school construction, expanded municipal services, etc.