In the 1970s, schoolteacher Jeanne Paisley bought 128 New York acres because she wanted space; 40 years later, the forests and fields were protected from development

In the early 1970s, there was a schoolteacher with three kids, a half-hour commute, and a big wish for room to breathe. According to The Land Steward, the Spring 2013 newsletter of the Finger Lakes Land Trust, that teacher was Jeanne Paisley. In the town of Richford in Tioga County, New York, she bought 128 acres of forests, fields, and wetlands. Her reasons were simple, and they still seem relevant.

A campsite she couldn’t forget