THE BIG 500 Brandywine Reaches Exciting Conservation Milestone

from Catalyst Spring–Summer 2023

by Brandywine Conservancy & Museum of Art

IN MEMORIAM

As 2022 came to a close, the Brandywine Conservancy celebrated a milestone achievement as it reached more than 500 total conservation easements held by the organization, while also exceeding 70,000 acres of land that have been permanently preserved through both direct and facilitated easements since the organization’s founding. That’s almost 110 square miles of land—nearly the size of Arches National Park—protected from development and other uses that could otherwise degrade natural, water, cultural and scenic resources.

Bringing the Conservancy over the line to 500 easements last year was a 51acre property, known locally as “Camp Linden,” in West Bradford Township, Chester County, PA. This easement was granted by the Philadelphia Ethical Society (PES), a nonprofit that has owned the property for almost 100 years. During that time, the site has been used as a seasonal camp for Philadelphia children living in underserved communities—a tradition that will continue with this easement, which permits the existing camp uses while also protecting the property’s noted conservation values.

The preservation of Camp Linden is emblematic of both the continuity of the Conservancy’s 55-plus years’ mission and the ways in which easements have changed over time.

Then & Now: A Look at How We Got Here

In one way, Camp Linden is like all of the Conservancy’s other easements: it’s unique. Every tract of land has distinctive qualities, and every landowner has a vision for its future. Back in 1969, the Brandywine’s co-founder George A. “Frolic” Weymouth and his wife, Anna B. McCoy, donated a conservation easement on their property—the organization’s first—totaling 50 acres along the “Big Bend” of the

Brandywine Creek. It was followed that year by three more donated easements, which created a four-mile corridor of protected creekside land. At the time, this region was at the heart of exciting new planning ideas to save open space. By putting those ideas into practice, the Brandywine’s founders began a tradition of conservation innovation and leadership that continues to this day as staff creatively address challenges of climate resilience and protecting biodiversity.

Just like the organization’s first four easements, Camp Linden has frontage along the Brandywine Creek. This easement protects floodplain and riparian areas along the West Branch of the creek, as well as hills above that feature mature forests of oak, hickory and beech. Additional highlights include scenic views of the creek and woods along Camp Linden Road, an upcoming trail easement that winds through the forest, and a future boat landing. The property itself is also historically significant, located within the Brandywine Battlefield Boundary and the Trimbleville National Historic District.

The Camp Linden easement showcases the important partnerships needed to make conservation a success. The project was funded through West Bradford Township’s open space funds, the Chester County Preservation Partnership Grant Program, the Marshallton Conservation Trust, and a private grant. And most importantly, this easement was made possible thanks to the committed conservation landowners—the Philadelphia Ethical Society—who strongly felt that the land should be protected in perpetuity. The enactment of local, county and state open space funding programs over the years and the resulting public-private partnerships have significantly enhanced the Conservancy’s ability to preserve land by expanding the pool of landowners who are willing and able to grant an easement.

Building on Conservation Successes

The Conservancy’s first four easements multiplied the conservation benefits of each one, because together they formed a connected protected landscape. Camp Linden, too, connects to land that is protected under easements through the Conservancy and other land trusts. These cumulative efforts have created another stretch of protected landscape along the West Branch of the Brandywine Creek. Using the landscape context as a conservation approach has been a hallmark of the Conservancy with stellar successes over the years, including the protection of the 5,400-acre King Ranch lands in Unionville, PA (1984-1988); 3,000 acres in Willistown Township in the 1980s; the 3,000acre Smith Bridge landscape (PA and DE) in the 1980s-90s; current initiatives in the Broad Run watershed and Honey Brook areas; and the organization’s noted work to preserve a significant portion of the Brandywine Battlefield landscape over the past decade.

As the Conservancy continues to steadily increase the area of protected lands, the Camp Linden project is the perfect opportunity to pause and reflect on all of the great conservation successes achieved over the years. These accomplishments are a collective effort made possible thanks to a conservation-minded community, individual landowners who have personally committed to permanent protection of their family lands, and private and public partners who have supported conservation policies and funding at the local, county, state and federal levels.

So, what’s next? Since Camp Linden, several additional easements have been added by the Conservancy, and even more projects are under way. It is good to celebrate a milestone—and even better to look down the road for the next one. n