Richford’s eastern Tioga County now harbors a 128‑acre patch of mature forest and wetlands that feed the East Branch of Owego Creek. The land, once part of a family homestead, sits on a steep slope above a seasonal stream that runs into the Susquehanna River.
Teacher Jeanne Paisley, who has taught in the area for 35 years, stumbled on the property during a cross‑country camping trip last summer. The site’s natural beauty and lack of nearby neighbors convinced her that it was the perfect place to unwind.
On Tuesday, Paisley signed a conservation easement with the Finger Lakes Land Trust, a deal drafted pro‑bono by attorneys John Alexander and Eric Haselbauer. The easement bars any future development, locking the forest, farmland and wetlands into permanent protection.
David Diaz, the trust’s director of land protection, highlighted that the easement will preserve the watershed’s water quality, benefiting eastern brook trout and downstream waters that ultimately flow into Chesapeake Bay.
The easement also links the property to an expanding network of protected lands—including state forests and the trust’s King Nature Preserve—forming a wildlife corridor that the trust plans to extend further next month.