Original Post by Andrea Szyper, Heritage Conservancy on 9 June 2025

This land is part of a larger 175-acre farm, Kirkland Farm, where 120 acres were preserved last year with a Bucks County agricultural easement. Photo credit Heritage Conservancy

In May, Heritage Conservancy completed a conservation easement to protect the 55-acre Staff property in Springfield Township, Bucks County. This land is part of a larger 175-acre farm, Kirkland Farm, where 120 acres were preserved last year with a Bucks County agricultural easement.

This newly protected plot is located within the Cooks Creek Conservation Landscape and Watershed. It is entirely wooded and is bisected by a shallow, “exceptional value” tributary to Cooks Creek.

This wooded plot is located within the Cooks Creek Conservation Landscape and Watershed. Photo credit Heritage Conservancy

“This was an especially satisfying closing because of the long time it was in process,” says Conservation Acquisition Specialist Kim Johnson. Heritage Conservancy worked with the owners for many years to get their property preserved.

The owners started the process several years earlier, before Kim joined the team at Heritage Conservancy. It is an example of the work and dedication sometimes required from Conservancy staff to complete an easement, in securing resources and navigating changing circumstances. At any given moment, Heritage Conservancy has multiple projects in various states of progress. We currently have over two dozen in the works.

And when a closing like this happens, our ongoing work to monitoring the property is only beginning, and that is a perpetual commitment.

About Heritage Conservancy

Heritage Conservancy’s mission is to protect and care for the lands of our region; to engage with and share the history that unfolded on these lands; and to connect people with both.

Heritage Conservancy is a community-based, nonprofit that works with communities, landowners, businesses, governments, and other mission-focused organizations to ensure that the landscapes that make our region special endure and flourish, for the benefit of people and nature. Founded in 1958 and based in Doylestown, PA, Heritage Conservancy has worked to protect more than 17,000 acres of open space, farmland, wildlife habitat, and important watershed areas throughout Bucks and surrounding counties.

We own and manage over 50 properties, hold conservation easements on more than 250 properties, and actively pursue habitat restoration initiatives across the region. Heritage Conservancy also holds historic preservation easements and maintains a Register of Historic Places with over 700 entries. We interact with thousands of community members every year in our work to connect people to the environment and history of our region. Our education programs inspire advocacy for land and watershed protection, reaching about 3000 students annually.

Heritage Conservancy is nationally accredited by the Land Trust Accreditation Commission.