ABSTRACT
The idyllic landscape of Chester County, Pennsylvania, survived some of the fiercest fighting of the Revolutionary War. Chester County adopted its first open space plan in 1982 and followed that in 1987 with its first open space bond. In 1989, Chester County voters approved a $50 million open space bond that funded grants for open space planning in Chester County municipalities. The Chester County Agricultural Land Preservation Board administers the Pennsylvania Agricultural Conservation Easement (ACE) Program as well as the Chester County Challenge Grant Program. In the ACE Program, the board offers to purchase development rights based on Land Evaluation and Site Assessment (LESA) rankings. Private nonprofit land trusts have been extremely effective protectors of open space in Chester County. In addition to assisting municipalities with farmland preservation and open space protection, Chester County itself has protected 5,956 acres of open space, including land in five county parks.
