Protecting Shelter Valley for Generations to Come

Shelter Valley has been part of the Price family for generations. The 165-acre property in Wayne County, Pennsylvania was first purchased in 1940 by Cole and Gertrude Price as a summer retreat. For Cole, who had grown up on a farm in New Jersey and dreamed of owning one again, the land offered a return to his roots.

Gertrude named the property Shelter Valley, and the name endured. Summers were spent tending gardens, exploring the woods, and enjoying time together as a family. Cole cultivated a large garden each year, and some of the perennials Gertrude planted more than eighty years ago still bloom on the property today—a living reminder of the family’s deep and lasting connection to the land.

In 1970, Cole and Gertrude gifted Shelter Valley to their son Edward. Nearly two decades later, in 1988, Edward and his wife Susan made the property their full-time home, raising their two sons, Rob and Ed, among its forests and fields.

Although Edward passed away in 2007, Shelter Valley remains at the heart of daily life for Susan, Rob, and Ed, who continue to live on and steward the land. Rob still plants gardens each year, working to improve the soil while appreciating the diversity of the property. From mature forests to successional fields and wetlands, the land supports a wide variety of unique wildlife habitats. Bears, bobcats, foxes, mink, and countless bird species are regular visitors.

“It just has a peaceful atmosphere; it feels like we’re just surrounded by nature,” Susan explained. “I would always just be so glad to come home after a long day.”

Over time, as development pressures increased in the surrounding area, the family began thinking seriously about the land’s future. “Growing up here and seeing the area change, seeing the neighboring farms being subdivided, that motivated me to want to conserve it,” Rob explained. With the property bordering both an industrial park and a mining corporation, the family felt a growing responsibility to protect the forests, wetlands, and clean water that make Shelter Valley so ecologically significant.

The Price family worked with the Delaware Highlands Conservancy to develop a conservation easement to permanently protect their family land from future subdivision and development, and in early 2026, the easement was finalized.

The family enjoys hiking and exploring the woods and fields and hopes the property will remain a central part of their lives—and their legacy—for many years to come. “We hope to grow old here,” Susan stated. “It’s just good to know that it’s going to be preserved and not developed, and we’re glad that Delaware Highlands Conservancy will oversee the future of the property.”

Reflecting on their experience, Rob encourages other landowners to start the conservation process early, noting that it takes time to complete and that planning ahead helps ensure a property’s future is protected.

By choosing to conserve their 165 acres, the Price family has ensured that no matter who owns the property in the future, its forests, fields, wetlands, and wildlife habitat will remain protected, honoring the legacy of those who first named it Shelter Valley more than eight decades ago.

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_{Funding support was also provided through Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, Bureau of Recreation and Conservation, through the Environmental Stewardship Fund, and the WeConservePA Conservation Easement Assistance Program.}