Private landowners hold more than 70 percent of Pennsylvania's forests and woodlots. For many such landowners, especially those without children to leave their land to in their wills, it may seem like they have no other option but to expose their land to the possibility of development when they are gone. However, many options exist to preserve privately owned land in its present state for the foreseeable future. This post intends to serve as a summary of the wide variety of methods open to a landowner looking to do so, and will discuss transfer to a land trust, conservation easements, deed restrictions, and government programs.