Preserve Goal
Advance the protection and stewardship of open space, farmland, and natural and cultural features to realize economic, ecological, and quality of life benefits.
Why it Matters
Preserving our farmlands, natural areas, and cultural resources is fundamental to protecting the county's quality of life, enhancing its economy, and maintaining the character that residents and visitors so highly value. Permanently protected lands limit development pressure on critical resources and often provide for public access offering people of all ages a place to connect to streams, woodlands, and wildlife.
Preservation of land often overlaps with preservation of cultural resources. Perhaps a centuries old industrial complex, a field that Revolutionary War soldiers fought upon, or a home that provided refuge as part of the Underground Railroad remains to reflect our shared history and engage residents and visitors.
A key component of expanding the network of protected open space is creating links between larger expanses of protected lands. Often in the form of stream or trail corridors, these links improve the ability of the overall network to withstand stresses, such as significant storm events or upstream development.
Across the coming decades, ensuring that protected open space and working lands are appropriately managed is critical. Restoration of degraded areas and practice of appropriate land stewardship is needed to ensure essential environmental functions such as flood mitigation, water recharge, and clean air, along with the continued health and well-being of our communities.
Objectives
- Protect a significant portion of Chester County as preserved farms, open space, forests, public parks or nature preserves.
- Prioritize preservation efforts to reflect the critical resources of agricultural soils, wildlife habitat, water resources, and public recreation opportunities.
- Support a regional approach to preservation that enhances the resiliency of ecosystems and provides the greatest return on investment.
- Promote stewardship of water resources, natural habitats, woodlands, historic landscapes, scenic vistas, recreational resources, and farms.
- Promote the benefits of protecting and appropriately managing open space by pursuing initiatives that inform and educate.
Recommendations
- Expand open space education
- Increase protected farmlands
- Expand protection of natural habitats
- Create additional recreation properties
- Enhance protection of cultural resources
- Expand the network of protected open space
- Encourage restoration and stewardship
- Support open space policies and ordinances
- Convene open space summits
Metrics to Measure Success
- Protected Open Space — Permanently protected open space within the county, including farmland, nature preserves, and parks
- Open Space Connectivity — Inter-connected protected open space within the county
- Protected Farmland — Farmland protected from development
