History
Natural Lands Trust was founded in 1953 as the Philadelphia Conservationists, Inc., by a group of birdwatchers who wanted to protect what is now the John Heinz National Wildlife Refuge, a tidal freshwater marsh in Tinicum Township, Pennsylvania. Led by Allston Jenkins, a local accountant who was new to birding when he founded the organization, The Philadelphia Conservationists achieved their goal of protecting the Tinicum Marsh from being filled with sediment dredged from nearby waterways by the following year. Allston Jenkins (1903-1994) became Natural Land Trust’s first president and executive director, and was an active member within the organization until his death.
As the Philadelphia Conservationists, the organization worked to preserve land up and down the East Coast and beyond – however, they would usually turn the land that they preserved over to government agencies and other non-profits. In 1959, the organization created its first nature preserve. The Sharp's Woods Preserve in Chester County, Pennsylvania, had 28 acres, and is still owned and stewarded by the organization today.
In 1961, the members of The Philadelphia Conservationists established themselves as Natural Lands Trust, Inc., as a means of being able to permanently own and preserve the land that came under their care. The same year, Natural Lands Trust received its first donation of land, now the Willisbrook Preserve in Willistown Township, Pennsylvania.
Natural Lands Trust has continued to acquire and steward open land in eastern Pennsylvania and in southern New Jersey in the interest of preserving open spaces and native habitats and ensuring that residents of Pennsylvania and New Jersey benefit from open spaces in perpetuity. In addition to acquiring land outright for preservation and stewardship, NLT has also been responsible for conservation easements on 20,000 acres of land. NLT’s first easement was the Upper Main Line YMCA in Chester County, Pennsylvania, in 1966, which was the first known conservation easement in Pennsylvania. Since its incorporation in 1961, NLT has saved more than 100,000 acres of land from being developed.
Natural Land Trust’s headquarters have been on the 55-acre Hildacy Farm Preserve in Media, Pennsylvania since 1981. To date, it owns and manages 41 nature preserves across 13 counties in Pennsylvania and New Jersey. NLT’s 21,000 acres are managed by 13 full and part-time land stewardship professionals. NLT receives government grants for land and easement purchases, receives land and easement donations, and is supported its members.
In the spirit of Natural Land Trust’s mission to not simply conserve open space, but to provide guidance in the development of communities and leadership in managing natural resources, NLT launched its Growing Greener: Conservation by Design municipal assistance program in 1997 and its Center for Conservation Landowners in 2007, respectively. To date, 152 municipalities in 26 counties across Pennsylvania and New Jersey have used NLT’s consulting services.
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