Murray and Rhonda Laudenslager received the 2023 Conservation Award on July 16 from Manada Conservancy, a nonprofit land trust that serves Dauphin County. Over the past 15 years, the Laudenslagers have preserved more than 360 acres of their land in upper Dauphin County. Their farmland, woodland and unique mountain wetlands of Peters Mountain and Powells Valley are now permanently protected.

The Laudenslagers were presented the award by Manada Conservancy executive director Will Dingman and Manada Conservancy board member Sally Zaino. Also in attendance at the awards ceremony was Hummelstown Mayor David Roeting and Sage McKeever, Miss Hummelstown.

The Laudenslagers, of Wayne Township, have worked with Manada Conservancy to protect multiple properties with the use of conservation easements. A conservation easement is a legal document used to permanently restrict subdivision and development and to ensure special protections for areas of high conservation value such as agricultural land, creeksides and forests.

The protected properties are located within the Kittatinny Ridge Conservation Landscape, a forested corridor of the Appalachian Mountains that is home to a portion of the Appalachian Trail. This corridor also provides habitat for a wide variety of species, including tens of thousands of migratory birds, and is recognized as a Global Important Bird Area.

With nearly 3,000 acres protected, Manada Conservancy is a land trust dedicated to preserving the natural, historic, agricultural and scenic resources of Dauphin County through land conservation, environmental education and community engagement. For more information, including to learn more about land preservation options available to landowners and to get involved with Manada Conservancy, visit http://www.manada.org, call 717-566-4122, or email office@manada.org.