The Central Pennsylvania Conservancy (CPC) works with landowners to preserve their property for future generations, often by preparing conservation easements that limit development and ensure sustainable agriculture and forestry practices. Agroforestry is a tree-based, perennial system of agriculture that combines conventional farming and forestry for greater ecological and financial benefits. Like conservation easements, good agroforestry requires a long-term commitment to enhancing a landscape for people and planet, with sustainability as the focus rather than a secondary goal.

How It Started

Ethan Strickler is the son of an easement donor named Tim Strickler, who preserved his two farms with CPC in 2019 and 2020. Shortly before the easements were recorded, Ethan and his wife began planting orchards on a small portion of his father’s farm, committing themselves to the long-term practice of agroforestry.

From the very beginning of Swallowtail Forest Farm, the couple set out to utilize native species when appropriate, and to promote the health and vitality of existing woodlands on the property. They established an 8-acre diversified orchard with a strong focus on Pawpaws and Persimmons, Hybrid Chestnut trees, and Black Locust, with plenty of room for continued use by wildlife.

“The Chestnut Orchard represents the long-term economic backbone of the orchard.” says Ethan, “We have planted more Hybrid Chestnut trees than any other species. Each year we host an on-farm tour and workshop, where we show visitors how we manage our young trees, how we harvest Chestnuts, and how we manage the orchard to promote habitat.”

In addition to the planted orchard, the couple manage a decades-old woodlot to support the natural regeneration of Bitternut Hickory, Shellbark Hickory, and several varieties of Oak species. Through intentional, long-term planning, they’ve combined their management of invasive species, including the removal of bush honeysuckle, privet, and others unwanted plants, with the regeneration of young stands of nut trees. Their stewardship yields direct ecological benefits – but it also provides Swallowtail Farm income from the sale of nuts.

“We’ve recently connected and partnered with the Keystone Tree Crops Cooperative (KTCC) and Third Place Processing, both located in Berks County, Pennsylvania, to sell the bitternut hickory nuts we gather each fall. These two entities are true tree-crops innovators. They press bitternut hickory nuts into oil, at scale, for a cooking oil product that comes directly from our native hickories. We’re excited to continue to explore this partnership, since selling hickory nuts helps us continue our ecological stewardship and management of areas on the farm that are regenerating into native forest.”

How It’s Going

All of this stewardship and agriculture has taken place with the conservation easement as a backdrop, helping to promote the long-term conservation ethic of Swallowtail Farm. When the easement was recorded, a written report of baseline conditions was prepared with photographs of the entire property, including the orchards and woodlot which had just been established. Each year, stewards from CPC visit easement properties and utilize these original records to ensure that the agreements put in place to preserve the property have been followed, and that the condition of the property is similar to how it was before.

“It’s fun and rewarding to reference those baseline photos and see how much our trees have grown in seven years! The conservation easement with the Central Pennsylvania Conservancy provides us with the security of knowing that our orchards, tree crops, and young woodlands are protected forever. Trees and tree crops, by their very nature, require long-term thinking, long-term planning, and long-term stability in land use. Partnering with a land trust gives us an extra set of eyes and ears on the property – which supports us in ecologically managing the land with a partner that cares about its health, vitality, and stewardship as well.”

The Swallowtail Forest Farm is an excellent example of the overlapping interests of how intentional, long-term planning and focus on sustainability produces synergies between conservation, agriculture, and forestry – all while preserving habitat for the native plants, wildlife, and pollinators that these industries rely on.

Thank you to Ethan Strickler for sharing his experience as an agroforestry producer and conservationist, and to Tim Strickler for his generous donation of two easements for the benefit of future generations.

If you’d like to learn more about the Central Pennsylvania Conservancy and its work, visit www.centralpaconservancy.org.
If you’d like to learn more about Swallowtail Forest Farm or schedule a visit, you can find more information at www.swallowtailforestfarm.com.
All photos provided by Ethan Strickler, Swallowtail Forest Farm, LLC.