15 Forest, Farm Acres In Northern Chesco Are Preserved Forever

CHARLESTOWN TOWNSHIP, PA — Old forest growth and forest farm acreage in northern Chester County have been added to preserved land here.

The Kimberton-based French & Pickering Creeks Conservation Trust has preserved forever 15 acres in Charlestown Township, northern Chester County, through a conservation easement on property owned by Nancy Long and her brother Tom Baldwin.

The property is situated within the Pickering Creek Watershed. The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection has designated Pickering Creek and its tributaries as having high-quality water. The easement was funded by Charlestown Township.

Unique to this property, 10 acres of the oldest trees are dedicated as an "old growth forest for the future," with an additional three acres designated as a "forest farm," the Trust said in a news statement.

According to Long and Baldwin, "Incorporating this protection strategy into an easement offers a new model to consider when woodland protection is foremost in a landowner's mind."

The 10 acres of old-growth forest contain a rich interplay of species due to their unique number of layers, including networks of fungal webs in the soil, low flowering herbaceous plants in the understory, and a rich variety of young, old and dead trees in the canopy. These trees will also help with water purification and carbon sequestration long into the future, the Trust explained.

The three-acre forest farm has slightly younger trees, making it an ideal environment for growing specialty crops including nuts from hickories, walnuts, and hazels, fruit from paw-paws, serviceberries, elderberries, currants, and raspberries, and medicinal crops such as ginseng, goldenseal, native ginger, and mushrooms.

Also encouraged in this part of the easement is the ancient practice of coppicing, which involves the periodic cutting of young trees to ground level encouraging new shoots from the base. Coppicing has the added benefit of lengthening the life of a tree, as well as providing tender young leaves for insects, which are the primary protein source for many species of wildlife.

The owners have ensured this woodland will remain intact by marrying the permanent protections offered by a conservation easement with a new way of utilizing its natural attributes, the Trust explained.

Since its establishment in 1967, French & Pickering has protected more than 13,000 acres in northern Chester County through purchases, conservation easements, and public/private partnerships. The non-profit organization works with landowners, townships, foundations, and the state and county to purchase and monitor conservation easements, create parkland and preserve environmentally sensitive land.

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