The Chronicle of the Horse
April 1 & 8, 2013
by John Strassburger
Everyone Can Have An Impact On Open Land
Step into the hunt territory of Mr. Stewart’s Cheshire Foxhounds, and it’s as if you’ve traveled back in time (see p. 56). Much of the rolling hills and farmland look just the same today as they did 100 years ago, when Plunket Stewart began his legacy of land conservation in the Pennsylvania countryside.
Thousands of acres of open land have been preserved through the actions of Stewart, his stepdaughter Nancy Hannum and, in recent years, the Cheshire Land Conservation Fund. This is the second time the hunt’s efforts have been recognized by the Hunting Habitat Conservation Award, a yearly honor sponsored by the Masters of Foxhounds Association and The Chronicle of the Horse. Cheshire first won in 1997, when Hannum was named co-recipient of the inaugural award. This year’s award recognizes the hunt’s ongoing efforts in land conservation over the last 15 years.
The article’s author, John Strassburger, is quick to point out that today we must employ new and different tactics to encourage people to participate in land conservation. “So that we can hunt over it” is no longer a good enough reason for many landowners—particularly the growing number who do not hunt—to put their land into easement....
To read full article, click here or visit www.chronofhorse.com.
