French and Pickering Creeks Conservation Trust serves the people of northern Chester County by

  • Conserving in perpetuity scenic, environmentally sensitive, and agricultural lands
  • Connecting people to the land recreationally via trails and parkland
  • Educating landowners about good stewardship of their woods, streams, and fields
  • Promoting the value of local agriculture to the protection of our rural landscape and culture
  • Advocating for conservation-friendly governmental policies

2012 Accomplishments

Thanks to all who helped us achieve another great year of conservation!

Nine conservation and trail easements projects were completed in 2012, totaling 528 acres of land that will never be impacted by dense development

In West Vincent Township

2 segments of the French Creek Trail were protected on the Roggio and Zartman/Patterson properties totaling nearly 1000 feet of additional trail easements.

In East Pikeland Township

The 17 acre horse farm owned by Gus and Jan Orr was placed under easement through our partnership the township and through their land protection program.

In Charlestown Township

  • Richard Hevner’s 22 acre horse property, home to Hope Springs Therapy horseback riding was eased through the Township’s open space initiative.
  • Harry and Marjorie Gill’s 32 acre equestrian property was also protected through the township’s dedicated open space funding program.
  • Brightside Farm, a 25 acre historic farmstead owned by Charlestown Township, was placed under easement to ensure its use would never change as local administrations do over the years.

These three projects enhanced the conservation of the Pigeon Run stream corridor and provided protection for the Horse-Shoe Trail, as well as formalizing public access trails on two of the properties.

In East Goshen

The remaining 60 acres belonging to Thorncroft Therapeutic Horseback Riding were conserved by two conservation easements funded by grants secured from PA. DCNR, PA. DCED, Chester County and private foundations and donors. A non-motorized public trail links 3 farms and 2 preserves through the protection of the land.

In South Coventry and East Nantmeal Townships

Six existing conservation easement of Sam and Eleanor Morris’s Lundale Farm were merged into one new, comprehensive easement protecting 372 acres of active farmland and enabling the formation of the agricultural-educational non-profit, Lundale Farm, Inc.

  

              

Tax Incentive for Conservation Easements

The Wall Street Journal published an article on February 25 on protecting land with conservation easements in their Wealth Management section, "Laws Give Break for Land Preservation. But Hurry".  The article does a nice job explaining the benefits and reasons for conserving land now.

Congress has extended an easement tax incentive through 2013, retroactively through 2012.

Since 2006, an enhanced income tax deduction has allowed family farmers, ranchers, and other moderate-income landowners to get a significant tax benefit for donating a conservation easement on their land.

Conservation easements allow private landowners to permanently retire development rights to protect significant natural resources. The enhanced conservation easement tax incentive opened the door to voluntary, landowner-led conservation on milions of acres of important wildlife habitat and scenic open space across the country. The incentive also enhances "bargain sales" of easements purchased by local, state and federal conservation agencies.

Read further for questions and answers to Conservation and the Fiscal Cliff Deal.

Land Preservation Committee

Land conservation projects and programs are evaluated and recommended by the Trust's Land Preservation Committee. Composed of board members and non-board representatives from the townships in the Trust's service area, the committee meets monthly to review and rank new projects using weighted criteria.  Their recommendations are then passed on to the full board for approval.