Land Conservancy named Preservation Organization of the Year by the Civil War Trust

(6/15) The Civil War Trust presented the Land Conservancy of Adams County its Brian C. Pohanka Preservation Organization of the Year Award at its annual conference last week in Gettysburg.

The Civil War Trust, the nation’s largest nonprofit organization devoted to the preservation of the nation’s Civil War battlegrounds, presents the award each year to an organization that shows outstanding dedication to the preservation, promotion, and interpretation of Civil War history.

The Land Conservancy has long worked in partnership with the Civil War Trust to preserve historically significant lands adjacent to the Gettysburg National Military Park, especially those that lie within the park’s viewshed. For example, the Land Conservancy and Civil War Trust partnered on the preservation of the Daniel Lady Farm, which hosted both Union and Confederate troops during and after the battle.

"We’re deeply honored to receive this recognition from the Civil War Trust," said Land Conservancy President John Kiehl. "Preserving our area’s hallowed ground is a critical facet of our mission of preserving the rural lands and character of Adams County. We’ve been fortunate to have had the privilege of partnering with the Civil War Trust on several conservation projects where our mission and theirs intersect."

The Land Conservancy of Adams County is a member-supported nonprofit land trust accredited by the national Land Trust Alliance. Founded in 1995, the organization has worked with more than 100 local landowners to preserve nearly 10,000 acres of Adams County farmland, forests, streams, and historically significant lands from development.

"The Land Conservancy and the Civil War Trust have been partners for many years in preserving lands adjacent to the Gettysburg National Military Park," said Land Conservancy founding president and long-time volunteer Dean Shultz. "Although the primary goal of the Land Conservancy is to ‘preserve the rural lands and character of Adams County,’ and the goal of the Civil War Trust is to ‘preserve historically significant lands related to the Civil War,’ the Civil War Trust has stepped forward to assist the Land Conservancy in funding the purchase of conservation easements on properties that meet both goals. The Land Conservancy also assists the Civil War Trust by holding conservation and historical easements on lands the Trust acquires until these parcels can be conveyed to the Gettysburg National Military Park."

The Land Conservancy and Civil War Trust have partnered in funding easement purchases on several projects in addition to the Daniel Lady Farm, including: the Weikert Farm, a Fairfield Calvary action site; the Phil Scott Farm, a Confederate Hospital site; the David Shea Farm, an East Calvary battlefield action site; and the Kenneth Dayhoff Farm, a staging area for the East Calvary battlefield action.

The Civil War Trust’s Brian C. Pohanka Preservation Organization of the Year Award, which has been presented annually since 2007, honors late Civil War historian and battlefield preservation movement co-founder Brian Pohanka. Previous recipients have included the Kentucky Historical Society, the Friends of the Wilderness Battlefield, and other preservation and historical groups.

The Civil War Trust is the largest nonprofit battlefield preservation organization in the United States. Although primarily focused on the protection of Civil War battlefields, the Trust also seeks to save the battlefields connected to the Revolutionary War and War of 1812. Through educational programs and heritage tourism initiatives, the Trust seeks to inform the public about the vital role these battlefields played in determining the course of our nation’s history.

For more information about the Civil War Trust, visit civilwar.org. For more information about the Land Conservancy of Adams County, visit LCACnet.org.