2019 Acre by Acre Award

2019 Acre by Acre Award: Phelps family & Joseph Phelps Vineyards

Land Trust of Napa County is proud to announce that the Phelps family and Joseph Phelps Vineyards are recipients of the 2019 Acre by Acre Award, presented during the Land Trust’s sixth annual Cornerstone Society Gathering on September 28th.

The Acre by Acre award honors outstanding conservation accomplishments in Napa that embody the Land Trust’s mission to preserve the character of Napa by permanently protecting land.

In December 1999, Joseph Phelps donated a 480-acre conservation easement to the Land Trust. It was not only a significant, generous and lasting accomplishment by itself, but was important in the history of the Land Trust.

“It was one of the largest conservation easements the Land Trust had received up to that point,” said Doug Parker, CEO of the Land Trust, “helping to build the credibility of easements as an effective tool for conservation, and Joe Phelps’ example helped motivate other landowners to protect their land through easements.”

The family’s commitment to conservation continued beyond the original donation in 1999 as Joe’s son Bill Phelps served on the Land Trust board from 2000-2006 and Joseph Phelps Vineyards has continued to host gatherings for the Land Trust and yearly hikes on the property. Joe’s daughters, Laurie Anderson and Lynn Finch, along with their husbands, attended the event and accepted the award on behalf of their family.

“Not only was it an honor to attend the dinner and accept this estimable recognition of our father, but an added benefit was learning more about the Land Trust and discovering the large impact that it has and all that it has to offer,” said Laurie Anderson.

“Laurie and I were extremely honored to personally accept the Acre by Acre award on behalf of our father and our family,” said Lynn Finch. “All of us supported our dad’s granting of the easement in 1999, and have enjoyed, over the last 20 years, many proud moments as a result of that decision.”

Laurie Anderson, right, and Lynn Finch, middle, accept Land Trust of Napa County’s 2019 Acre by Acre Award on behalf of their family from CEO Doug Parker during the non-profit’s yearly Cornerstone Society Gathering on September 28, 2019. Photo by Megan Reeves Photography.