ConserveLand Blog

Landowners interested in conserving their properties do so for various reasons.  Some are logical—the land is adjacent to a state park, state forest, game lands, or other existing open space, so why not add to it?  Some are financial—the tax benefits are helpful to the landowner’s financial position.  Finally, some are emotional, even visceral—“my family has been here for generations and I love this land.  It would tear me apart to see this developed.”  In past issues of The Horizon many of you have read about the financial benefits that may exist for landowners who choose to conserve their property.  In this issue, however, I want to touch on the emotional side of the process.

Over the past 15 years NBLT has met with many families who come from the same mold—they love their land, they love their land, and they love their land.  I set out to discover what some of them have to say about the process of protecting something they love so dearly.

Most recently, Gene and Betsy Pelletier signed a conservation easement on their 13-acre property in Bradford County. Here is what they have to say about the process and working with us:

Once we sent our e-mail expressing our interest in conserving our property, the NBLT response was almost immediate.  Rick Koval was there for us every step of the way, always supportive and very responsive to our needs.  We found the process to be straightforward, seamless and enlightening, especially the flora and fauna inventory.  It was a pleasure to work with all the knowledgeable, professional and dedicated members of the NBLT staff who generously shared their knowledge and experience with us to achieve a positive outcome.

John and Kathryn Kuryloski of Columbia County completed their 54-acre conservation easement with us late in 2008.  They say:

We thought we knew our property, but in the process of conserving our land with NBLT, we gained increased insight and appreciation of the ecosystem we call home and for this we give special thanks to Rick Koval for his expertise and enthusiasm.  We have also gained great satisfaction and pleasure in becoming part of the NBLT community of like-minded conservationists.

Families who came to us early in our existence were elated to discover us and our work.  Conserving land in the 1990s and early into the next decade was very new to our region and viewed by some to be a bit extreme, very unconventional.  For a few brave souls, this was exactly what they had in mind.  Take for instance Betty Davies of Mehoopany in Wyoming County who, shortly after her 80^th birthday in 1998, signed her conservation easement assuring that her 37 acres would remain unspoiled even after she was gone.  She still lives alongside Mehoopany Creek, in a log home she and her late husband, Carlton, built decades ago with trees cut from their own land.  Pines tower over the house, and rock ledges across the creek overhang a summertime swimming hole.  Betty could not bear the thought that a future owner might destroy the place that meant so much to her family:

I have always loved the out-of-doors and the land, and I didn’t want anybody who bought my property after I was gone to come in and cut down these beautiful trees…just to make money.  Money is not the important thing.  I was interested in the land and in the beauty of the land, and the peace that there is here.

In 1996, Ed and Amber Zygmunt of Susquehanna County purchased 50 acres of rolling land in Auburn Township that had been farmed for over 100 years.  They refurbished the old farmhouse into a cozy home and began making the surrounding property just as welcoming to wildlife.  Lawns were replaced with perennial flowerbeds that attracted butterflies, bees, and hummingbirds.  New stone walls, ponds and shrubs provided shelter and food for many wild creatures.  Tree plantings and an enlarged wetland diverted muddy storm water runoff away from a stream that flows into the Susquehanna River, keeping the stream clean and recharging the ground water supply.  Amber and Ed are not farmers themselves—both have office jobs—but they wanted their land to continue to be put to productive use, so they arranged to have a neighboring farmer use it to grow feed for his dairy cattle.

The Zygmunts worked in partnership with other environmental organizations such as Ducks Unlimited, the Chesapeake Bay Foundation and the Pennsylvania Bureau of Forestry.  But the thought of all of their work being destroyed by a future owner troubled the couple.

They came to NBLT in 1999 to conserve their land.  Here is what they have to say:

We wanted to preserve it, not only for our generation, but also our grandchildren’s generation.  The questions the Land Trust had in their paperwork made you really consider a whole lot of things.  They made it really easy…when it came right down to it; it really was a very simple process…. Working with the staff and volunteers of the North Branch Land Trust to draft our conservation easement was like putting together a puzzle.  When the last piece was finally in place, we knew we created something beautiful that could never be taken apart.

Conservation easement donor Gerard Kipp came to us by way of his father, Joe, who originally contacted us in the late ’90s.  Joe left the land to Gerard, who signed his easement document in 2003.  The process and completion of the project was a very emotional one for Gerard:

We seem to be dreamers and storytellers, those of us who donate conservation easements.  To those who want to find the courage to ‘Sign the line,’ I offer this simple advice: ‘Think of yourself as an artist of the land.  Stay true to your colors and style, and the rest will fall into place.’

I close out this writing with two things to keep in mind.  The first is to understand that what these and all the other conservation easement donors have done may not be for you.  Conserving your property is a commitment in perpetuity.  The second is that many of us can only explain the desire to conserve land because we have a spiritual connection to it—the wonder, the awe of it, a gift to us from our creator.  This thought is expressed in a poem written by Gerard Kipp:

There is uniqueness here,

it is the scent on the wind, cinnamon spice,

and the sight of fens unspoiled.

A fire burns in our hearts for connection,

a connection of our souls to a place, and a purpose,

and we must rise above the estimate of ownership.

There is uniqueness here,

and we shall preserve it.

Linda Thoma

North Branch Land Trust