Tales of Preservation

Look across the Eastern half of South Mountain and you will find a landscape of incredible beauty.  Pastoral, working lands dotted with orchards, and forests abutting one of the largest contiguous publicly owned forests near the DC-Baltimore metro area.  The lands surrounding Gettysburg have some of the highest growth pressures in Pennsylvania, yet there are landowners dotting the landscape that choose to preserve their property.  Read about those who are choosing to preserve the landscape in the Tales of Preservation, created by the Land Conservancy of Adams County and funded through the South Mountain Mini-Grant program. See the booklet below.

The landowners in this booklet have decided to preserve their properties and have thus created a legacy for future generations. The vehicle for preservation is called a conservation easement, or preservation agreement. An easement is an agreement between the landowner and land conservancy which limits certain uses on all or a portion of a property, while keeping the property in the landowners’ownership and control.


The vision of the Land Conservancy of Adams County is to protect the diverse and distinctive natural resources of Adams County – from the summits of South Mountain to the cool clear native trout waters of the Narrows, from the rich rolling hills of the Fruit Belt to the pitch pine-scrub of the Big Flat Barren, from the amphibian-filled seeps and wetlands of Marsh Creek to the bird-breeding southern grasslands, from the richly cultivated croplands of the east with their interspersed woodland tracts harboring whitetail deer, from the scenic mid-nineteenth century agricultural landscapes of the East Berlin area to the green foal-filled pastures of the Hanover Shoe Farms, from the prized vistas of High Rock and Little Round Top to the boulder-strewn hillside at Devil’s Den.


This is a South Mountain Mini-Grant project.  This project was financed in part by a grant from the Community Conservation Partnerships Program, Environmental Stewardship Fund, under the administration of the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, Bureau of Recreation and Conservation.

Tales of Preservation Booklet

Community Supported Forests Booklet- An all local wood product guide

Click here to download the South
 Mountain Community Supported Forests Guide

Our region has a wealth and diversity of local agricultural products, AND it is also blessed by an abundance of forest products which provides us local goods that have a lower carbon footprint, feed right back into our local economy, and help maintain our woodlands.  Our mini-grant program has funded the creation of a Community Supported Forest Booklet- a local guide to all things wood related, including where to by local furniture, wood pellets, timber frames, and much, much more. Central Pennsylvania Conservancy leads this project with contributions from Penn State University and the PA Department of Conservation and Natural Resources.

Community Supported Forests reflect a community shared land ethic. We know we want to protect the character and quality of life that Central Pennsylvania’s scenic woodlands and ridges provide us.  Abundant, clean water, un-fragmented habit for wildlife and diverse recreational opportunities are all enjoyed in our forested landscape. Additionally, when we connect our healthy forests and the marketplace, by harvesting and converting wood into quality products, more value is sent back to the forest and forest stewards, keeping local forests healthy, beautiful, and productive.   

Like small farms, small forest product operations serve a vital role in our communities. When you buy locally, your money stays within the community, bolstering the local economy.   

Download the attached Community Supported Forests Booklet. Contact these local vendors to help keep our local forests sustainable. We have made every effort to include as many businesses as possible. If you have an update or correction to the publication please contact Debbie Bowman at 717-241-4360 or dbowman@CentralPaConservancy.org Hard copies of this booklet will be available shortly.

This project was financed in part by a grant from the Community Conservation Partnerships Program, Environmental Stewardship Fund, under the administration of the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, Bureau of Recreation and Conservation.