Chesco Strawbridge property becomes state preserve

George Strawbridge Jr. is many things. He is an educator, an NHL owner, an equestrian, a scion of the Campbell Soup family, and a longtime resident of Londonderry, in the heart of Chester County’s hunt country.

And now, he can be known as the man whose decisions helped create the county’s newest state nature preserve, a massive space open along its southern border to the public for its pleasure.

Last week, with the financial help of the Chester County Office of Open Space Preservation, the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, and the Mt. Cuba Center, The Conservation Fund purchased the last

337 acres of the 1,700 acre Strawbridge property and transferred it to the state, according to those involved. Bureau of State Parks will now manage the entire property as the Big Elk Creek Section of the White Clay Creek Preserve.

The county began working with The Conservation Fund in 2007 to purchase and preserve the southernmost 731 acres of the property, while the remaining 978 acres were purchased in segments over the last three years.

According to the county, the property spans parts of Elk, Franklin, and New London, and its two mile southern border runs along the Pennsylvania Maryland state line — which is also

the Mason-Dixon Line — and is immediately adjacent to Maryland’s 5,300acre Fair Hill Natural Resources Management Area. One of the northern points of the property sit catty-corner to Natural Land’s 222acre Peacedale Preserve.

The property supports 3.5 miles of the Big Elk Creek – a tributary of the Elk River and the Chesapeake Bay. Over 690 separate plant species have been identified on the property, 15 of which are endangered, rare, threatened, or vulnerable.

Currently, the public can access the property using the parking area on Strickersville Road, and by the Springlawn Trail, which is managed by Elk Township, and runs through property along the Big Elk Creek.

Over 11 years, the county contributed $8 million, the state $9 million, and the Mt.

Cuba Center $15.25 million, for a total of $32.25 million to purchase the land.

In a press lease from The Conservation Fund, the three county commissioners heaped praise on the decade-long effort.

“We applaud the tireless efforts of The Conservation

Fund on completing this complex transaction and thank the Strawbridge family and the many other partners involved on this remarkable conservation success,” said commissioners Marian Moskowitz, Josh Maxwell and Michelle Kichline.

“Open space preservation is a big part of the cultural character of Chester County and the benefits of this exciting accomplishment go beyond the important preservation of wildlife and plant species, and the addition of public recreation opportunities. As noted in Chester County’s ‘Return on Environment Report,’ protection of open space such as this increases property values, keeps us fit and healthy, and cuts down of the cost of environmental services by filtering our water, cleaning our air, reducing flooding, slowing stormwater and storing carbon.”

An official with The Conservation Fund noted how the Strawbridge property’s mix with other nearby open space tracts will make it a singular resource on the East Coast.

“Large tracts of open

space like this are extremely rare and valuable, especially in such a highly developed and populated area,” said Blaine Phillips, The Conservation Fund’s Mid-Atlantic regional director. The result (of this effort) is one of the largest blocks of open space in our region and an opportunity to maintain a bucolic landscape that is quickly vanishing.”

“The Strawbridge property extends an important wildlife corridor and provides refuge for a wide array of rare and threatened species,” said Mt. Cuba president Ann Rose. “Mt. Cuba Center celebrates this significant conservation achievement and the collaborative work of the partners who made it possible.”

PHOTO BY JERRY MONKMAN Big Elk Creek in early spring in Elk, Chester County.