Our Work

The two organizations which preserve land in Cumberland County are the County itself, through its Agricultural Land Preservation Board, and the Central Pennsylvania Conservancy, which is a donor-supported non-profit land trust operating in Cumberland, Franklin, and Perry Counties. If you or someone you know is interested in learning more about options for land preservation, we recommend reaching out to one of these organizations for more information.

Land conservation does not happen in a vacuum - it requires the cooperation of many, many donors and volunteers! The primary way you can contribute to land conservation in Cumberland County is by donating to or volunteering with an existing organization that you have an interest in. The About page of this website offers a comprehensive list of conservation organizations currently operating in Cumberland County. Sharing concerns or support for land conservation with public officials is another great way of effecting local decision-making related to land conservation. Attending public meetings is a great way to make your voice heard! The County-hosted Calendar of Events is a good place to learn about public meetings, and most Boroughs and Townships have websites with similar calendars specific to their jurisdiction.

The most direct County-led efforts to conserve land are directed by the Cumberland County Planning Department, and include: The Agricultural Conservation Easement (ACE) Program, which protects viable agricultural lands by acquiring agricultural conservation easements to preserve the land for agricultural production in perpetuity. The Land Partnerships Grant Program, which provides financial assistance to municipalities and non-profit organizations for the purpose of agriculture preservation, natural resource protection, creation of parks, trails & greenways and planning and ordinance assistance projects. The Environment section of the Cumberland County website contains a complete list of plans and programs aimed at conservation and stewardship of natural resources for public benefit.

There are a number of trail-focused organizations in Cumberland County, including the Keystone Trail Association, the Cumberland Valley Appalachian Trail Club, the Potomac Appalachian Trail Club, and the Mountain Club of Maryland. While most organizations are involved in maintaining and expanding mountain trails, the Cumberland Valley Rail Trail Council is actively working to establish a continuous rail-trail through the Cumberland Valley. The Letort Regional Authority owns and stewards the Letort Nature Trail, a 2.5 mile rail trail which follows the Letort Spring Run from Letort Park in downtown Carlisle to South Spring Garden Street and Heisers Lane in South Middleton Township. Many of the groups mentioned above hold group hiking events and trail maintenance projects which are open to the public. These events are great opportunities to learn more about the organization’s work, their trails, and their mission. We’d recommend getting in touch with these organizations if you’d like to learn how to get involved.

The land trusts that we work with determine the stewardship contribution due for each individual parcel and that is included in the quote the land trust gives us and is part of the invoice that we pay after preservation is completed. [Laura Brown]

Certainly, we would be open to something like that in Silver Spring Township although I would have serious questions about whether or not such land could be viable agricultural land in the future since original soils and the rock geology is removed during the land development phase. My first thought would be to clear the land of impervious and establish a park or perhaps plant some type of a woodland or meadow area. Not sure if soils would need to be brought in before something like that could be established. Surely, if we’re getting rid of warehouses, I think our residents and other Supervisors would be interested. One thing to keep in mind though, redevelopment of land that has already been built on can be an excellent way to bring in revenue for the Township and good businesses for the residents without tearing up currently farmed or wooded parcels. Another wards, keep this land in commercial/industrial use since it’s probably already zoned that way and then we keep from developing other untouched land. [Laura Brown]

The 2015 Return on Environment report was prepared by private consultants Ken Goode, Dan Miles and John Rodgers. Funding was provided through Audubon PA from PA DCNR. Cumberland County is working with the Kittatinny CLI to commission an update to the study which should occur in 2025. Here is a link to the 2015 Return On Environment report: https://kittatinnyridge.org/wpcontent/uploads/2015/04/KIT_ROE_cumberland_6.pdf. [Stephanie Williams]

Natural Lands typically offers a fee for service proposal that can help a municipality with the feasibility analysis, public informational meetings, ordinance and ballot language, etc. Our fees are modest compared to other consultants and we work much more as a partner, often contributing more than a contract stipulates to help insure success. We can also, seamlessly work with a local committee (PAC) to help with fundraising, communications, and strategies to support a vote yes campaign. That work is often funded by the fundraising of the PAC and not the municipality. There again, we have a full, in-house communication team and art department that can help keep costs down, typically delivering more at our own cost than a for-profit consultant would. We also have the ability to hand off a “toolbox” that a PAC can use to run the campaign themselves. [Todd Sampsell]

The land trusts and the Cumberland County Farmland program that we partner with on farm properties all require landowners to provide soil conservation and manure management plans as needed to verify that they are complying with 4 Department of Agriculture regulations and the Clean Streams Act. [Laura Brown]

At the county level, the refinement of the Land Partnerships Plan could be a good avenue for considering increased open space funding for Cumberland County. The County is considering public outreach to gauge interest and support for such a funding increase in the budget. Supporters and stakeholders in the community could help that process by contacting the County Commissioners to express their support for the additional funding. The York County model could be a good one to follow in Cumberland County. At the municipal level, we have in Cumberland County a good model to follow with Silver Spring Township having presented at the forum and built a successful municipal open space program. We also have partners ready to assist other municipalities that may be interested, such as Cumberland Conservation Collaborative, Central PA Conservancy, Grow Conservation, and Natural Lands. If you are a municipal manager or supervisor, then a next step would be to contact one of these organizations for advice and assistance. If you are a resident or stakeholder, then a next step would be to write to your township leaders or attend a supervisor meeting and suggest your municipality consider dedicated open space funding. If you would like help with what to say in that message, then you could also contact one of the organizations listed above. [Ryan Szuch] As someone from York County – I believe our pathway is very viable in Cumberland County. Cumberland County has already done a LOT of the legwork. Stephanie Williams’ presentation covered an immense amount of information. From there, you need County Commissioner buy-in to do it via a tax increase proposal. Though increasing taxes is never popular, it appears that through surveys conducted to date, the people of Cumberland County are in favor of all the benefits of land preservation. [Sean Kenny] I think both York County and Chester County are great examples to look to for building success in Cumberland County. Everyone that participated needs to engage in public forums with the County to continue to express interest in open space preservation. Same goes at the municipal level, and municipal officials can be a strong advocate for funding at the County level that leverages any local dollars. I think a key aspect to success in Cumberland County is a balanced approach to open space that includes agricultural preservation, with open space for both biodiversity and recreation (trails and parks). Recognize that Cumberland County is very different from east to west. An open space initiative has to have benefit for all parts of the County. Also, think about stressors like climate impacts, sprawl, and nature deprived communities (i.e. typically more urban and/or economically depressed) and how open space conservation can help build resiliency against these things when crafting messages and priorities around an open space funding initiative. [Todd Sampsell] I believe that the York County model could absolutely work in Cumberland County. We already had one Commissioner indicate that they would like to see a County wide referendum to establish a dedicated fund for open space preservation. While that state legislation seems to be DOA, still, if the County established a mil rate or percentage of the budget through a resolution that could be used going forward, future Commissioners would not have to politically justify the expense. It would face a fair amount of scrutiny up front, but less so for future public officials. [Laura Brown]

Its unclear exactly what the intent of this question is, particularly the regional aspect of the question as most land development is parcel/site specific…. But open space does generally provide stormwater benefits and there is a strong emphasis on provision of green infrastructure in our communities to serve both recreation/open space/stormwater management needs. [Stephanie Williams]

▪ York County Farm and Natural Land Trust minimums are currently 30 acres or more. There can always be exceptions if adjoining land is already preserved land, though we try to stick to 30 acres. ▪ While we have a lot of land preserved that contains historic structures, FNLT does not protect those. [Sean Kenny]

Cumberland County adopted a Climate Action Plan in 2022. Since then, the County has been pursuing a number of energy projects such as electrification of county vehicles and development of a solar project. Learn more at: https://www.cumberlandcountypa.gov/4898/Climate-Action-Plan. [Stephanie Williams]

▪ The 1/10th of a mil tax increase funds Farm and Natural Lands Trust, York County Parks, York County Conservation District, a grant program AND the York County Ag Land Preservation Board (YCALPB actually receives over half of the entirety of the funding) ▪ A goal has been set to protect 2,500 acres protected per year through Farm and Natural Lands Trust, the York County Ag Preservation Board, and via the grant program . ▪ I cannot speak to easement values for YCALPB. At FNLT, we do not get into appraised easement values as there are far too many variables. However, through the tax increase, FNLT will pay $500 per acre, which is then partially matched through local foundation funding to get us closer to $700 per acre. Then, all closing/signing/recording/settlement costs are covered as well. We do flat fees per acre as opposed to a percentage based off appraisal values to keep the process moving along. [Sean Kenny]

I can best speak to agriculture easement costs for land preserved through the County/State Farmland Preservation Program. Over the last 2 years easement values have ranged between $3000-$4800/acre. Easement values do vary between eastern and western Cumberland County, with properties in areas with higher development pressure having higher values. A host of other factors can influence easement price, such as amount of road frontage, zoning, soil type, etc. Easement cost does not factor into the prioritization of farms through the County Farmland Preservation Program. [Stephanie Williams]