159 acres preserved in Adams County Fruit Belt

The Land Conservancy of Adams County (LCAC) has announced a conservation easement donated by Boyer Nurseries and Orchards, in the heart of the county’s extensive fruit belt.

 The company preserved a total of 159 acres in two conservation easements on a few parcels just west of Arendtsville between Cashtown and Winding Roads in Franklin Township.

 According to LCAC, a conservation easement is a voluntary land protection agreement between a private landowner and a land trust such as LCAC. It permanently protects the unique resources and conservation values found on a property – such as its ecological, scenic, wildlife, or agricultural resources.

 “Connecting to the 900 acres that we preserved together over a decade ago, this completes the permanent preservation of Boyer’s ‘Home Farm,’ and reaches the notable achievement of protecting over 1,000 acres with a single owner,” according to Sarah Kipp, LCAC’s land conservation director. The Land Conservancy purchased both easements on Boyer’s orchardland and forest with funding from the Natural Resources Conservation Service’s Agricultural Conservation Easement Program, the Adams County Green Space Grant Program, and LCAC’s own funds raised through the Adams County Community Foundation’s annual Giving Spree.

 Boyer’s has been a family-owned and operated business since 1900.

The farm is located in the hills of western Adams County, whererainfall and spring water drain into rivulets and streams that eventually help form Marsh Creek, which provides drinking water to those living in the Gettysburg area.“We know there are a lot of natural springs and vernal pools in the woodland behind the farm and it’s an important water resource, so limiting development in this area was really important to us,” said Emma Lower, a fifth-generation co-manager.