The 207-acre Peacedale Preserve includes two streams that flow into Big Elk Creek, which in turn leads to the Chesapeake Bay. The property also includes vast expanses of woodlands and hayfields, some of which we will convert to native grass meadows in the coming years.

History
In 1973, Natural Lands Trust received a donation of land from the estate of Charles Foote, a southern Chester County farmer described in our newsletter at that time as “having his own ideas about things.” Fortunately, one of those ideas was that his 60-acre Franklin Township property should be preserved.

Over the years, his farm has remained in our care but, due to limited access and funding, it has been an isolated parcel with no trails or other public amenities. Thanks to a recent purchase, all of that is changing.

In July, 2009, we acquired a parcel of over 113 acres adjoining Mr. Foote’s farm. The combined properties have been christened ‘Peacedale Preserve,” which is now our southernmost preserve in the county. The land was purchased from Wilkinson Nottingham, LLC, a developer that had received approval for a subdivision on the property but made the decision to look for conservation options instead. Then, later in 2009, we acquired an additional 33 adjacent acres, expanding the preserve to a total of 207.

Highlights

	1.7 miles (with plans to expand to 3 total miles) of unpaved trails ranging from easy to moderate
	Birds include Eastern Bluebird, Ovenbird, and Downy, Hairy, and Pileated Woodpeckers
	Animals include red fox, wild turkey, wood and tree frogs, raccoon, eastern chipmunk, and eastern flying squirrel
	Woodlands dominated by oak, tuliptree, and maple
	Over 1 mile of tributary streams to Big Elk Creek; wetlands that provide habitat for a variety of plants and animals, including one endangered species
	Hayfields that will be converted to native grass meadows