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Conservancy to acquire more land for Kellys Run Nature Preserve

This building is on a portion of the property the Lancaster Conservancy plans to add to the Kellys Run Nature Preserve. (Photo: Avery Van Etten | Lancaster Conservancy)

The Lancaster Conservancy has reached an agreement to purchase 43 acres to add to the Kellys Run Nature Preserve in Martic Township.

The forested land includes a quarter mile of the Kellys Run stream and will bring the preserve’s total size to more than 500 acres, the nonprofit said in its announcement Tuesday.

“This addition is a key part of our land protection strategy to expand existing nature preserves while protecting valuable water resources,” Conservancy President and CEO Fritz Schroeder said in a statement.

The planned acquisition will cost $950,000, plus another $20,000 for a survey, environmental assessment and closing costs, according to a budget presented to the Lancaster County commissioners earlier this month.

The conservancy is seeking $150,000 from the county to match with $820,000 in private funding. The nonprofit is among a handful of third-party entities that historically have received grants in the county’s annual budget; in 2024, the conservancy received $150,000 in American Rescue Plan Act funds toward its purchase of 9.9 acres to add to the Steinman Run Nature Preserve, also in Martic Township.

Click to enlarge. (Source: Lancaster Conservancy)

The tracts that make up the 43-acre Kellys Run addition currently belong to husband and wife Robert Pfannebecker and Nancy Fornoff. Pfannebecker, an attorney by profession, is a nationally known American craft collector. He built three artists’ galleries at the Martic Township site that have hosted numerous artists and art collectors over the years.

In a statement, Pfannebecker called it “my paradise.” By selling it to the conservancy, he and his wife are ensuring that the property can remain forested in perpetuity.

“It’s gratifying to think that it will continue at that level with other people being able to enjoy Kellys Run,” Pfannebecker said.

The conservancy has been growing the Kellys Run Nature Preserve tract by tract, beginning with its initial purchase in 2000. It sits within the River Hills region (a conservancy designation) and the state-designated Susquehanna Riverlands Conservation Landscape. Along with other conservancy preserves, it is part of a network of protected forest in the area totaling more than 1,630 acres.