Deal reached to help preserve Montco open space

Conservationists are celebrating a deal that’s being finalized to preserve a swath of land in Montgomery County. For nearly a decade groups have been pushing to protect Erdenheim Farm’s 450 acres, while others have been eyeing up the plot for development.

Conservationists are celebrating a deal that’s being finalized to preserve a swath of land in Montgomery County. For nearly a decade groups have been pushing to protect Erdenheim Farm’s 450 acres, while others have been eyeing up the plot for development.

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[audio: 090601lffarm.mp3]

The road to preserving Erdenheim Farm has not been simple.  It took a complex web of deals, public and private money, and collaboration with government agencies, and the family and Estate of the late Fitz Eugene Dixon, who owned the farm.

But it’s been worth it says Hugh Moulton, the head of the nonprofit Whitemarsh Foundation, which was set-up to preserve the Farm.

Moulton: Erdenheim Farm is the centerpiece of 2,000 acres of nearly contiguous open space in the Wissahickon Valley. It has been in continuous agricultural use since the days of William Penn.  Saving this property from development and continuing it in agricultural use is a great win.

Moulton says the Whitemarsh Foundation is buying a portion of the farm, while another section is being sold to a private buyer who will operate the farm and continue to raise cattle and sheep on the land.