Water is essential to all life, and without healthy stream buffers and conserved land to protect our waterways, the water we depend on is subject to degradation from erosion and pollution. Northern Chester County has some of the highest concentrations of Exceptional Value and High Quality designated streams anywhere in the state, and French & Pickering strives to preserve these waterways through conservation easements and assisting in the development of a robust water quality program in the region.

Since 2013, the French & Pickering Creeks Conservation Trust has been one of over 40 regional and national organizations selected as a partner in William Penn Foundation’s groundbreaking five-year $35 million initiative designed to preserve and protect the Delaware River watershed. The $35 million in grant funds will fund an innovative and comprehensive approach to watershed protection. Most notably, the initiative will permanently protect over 30,000 acres in the Delaware River watershed, help complete over 40 restoration projects in critical areas, and provide resources for businesses and organizations such as French and Pickering Creeks Conservation Trust to engage and educate communities on the importance of our waterways.

French & Pickering has partnered with Green Valleys Watershed Association, Natural Lands Trust, Berks County Conservancy, Partnership for the Delaware Estuary, Pennsylvania Audubon, Stroud Water Research Center, Academy of Natural Sciences, and Chester County Water Resources Authority to develop a strategy to take advantage of this unique opportunity over the next several years. To learn more about this program, please visit ansp.org.

ABOUT FRENCH & PICKERING CREEKS CONSERVATION TRUST

French & Pickering Creeks Conservation Trust is a community-based organization whose mission is to preserve, steward, and connect people to the land in northern Chester County. French & Pickering works collaboratively with individual landowners, local and state government, and other conservation organizations to ensure the preservation of the French and Pickering Creeks watersheds, which contain some of the most scenic lands in Pennsylvania. Founded by Sam and Eleanor Morris in 1967, the organization has:

1.Ensured the permanent protection of more than 12,500 acres of agricultural, natural, and park lands through donated and purchased conservation easements and public/private partnerships
2.Created greenways and trails along the French and Pickering Creeks
3.Continued to monitor and advocate stewardship of all lands protected by French & Pickering easements.

CONSERVATION
French & Pickering Creeks Conservation Trust actively works to protect endangered land and natural resources in northern Chester County watersheds through use of a variety of conservation tools and techniques. The most common of these is an agreement that takes place between the French & Pickering and a landowner, known as a conservation easement.

Sadly, many people already know how quickly the natural beauty of land can be lost, due to yet another housing development or shopping center taking the place of an open space. Now is a pivotal time for landowners to seek a way to protect their land from current or future development. When a landowner makes the decision to pursue placing a conservation easement on their land, they are granting French & Pickering the right to place restrictions on what the land may be used for, in order to protect the conservation values of the property for generations to come.

Conservation values may include trails, important habitats for native plant and wildlife, exceptional water quality, and scenic views—all of which could be devastated if left unprotected. The right to develop land has monetary value, which means that these rights can be accepted by French & Pickering as a potential charitable donation, or can be bought by the French & Pickering with funding gathered from a wide array of sources, such as grants, fundraising events, donations, and Annual Sponsorships.