Barbara Yeaman (December 16, 1924 – April 6, 2025) was an American conservationist, who was the founder of Delaware Highlands Conservancy, an accredited

land trust Land trusts are nonprofit organizations which own and manage land, and sometimes waters. There are three common types of land trust, distinguished from one another by the ways in which they are legally structured and by the purposes for which th ...

serving

Pike Pike, Pikes or The Pike may refer to: Fish * Blue pike or blue walleye, an extinct color morph of the yellow walleye ''Sander vitreus'' * Ctenoluciidae, the "pike characins", some species of which are commonly known as pikes * ''Esox'', genus of ...

and Wayne counties, in

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

, and Sullivan and

Delaware Delaware ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic and South Atlantic states, South Atlantic regions of the United States. It borders Maryland to its south and west, Pennsylvania to its north, New Jersey ...

counties, in

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

Early life and education

Yeaman was born on December 16, 1924, near

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the List of Un ...

, Pennsylvania. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, she earned her pilot’s license to qualify for the Women Air Force Service Pilots. Yeaman later earned a degree in

Environmental Studies Environmental studies (EVS or EVST) is a multidisciplinary academic field which systematically studies human behavior, human interaction with the Natural environment, environment. Environmental studies connects principles from the physical sci ...

at the

University of California at Irvine The University of California, Irvine (UCI or UC Irvine) is a public land-grant research university in Irvine, California, United States. One of the ten campuses of the University of California system, UCI offers 87 undergraduate degrees and 129 ...

Career

In her early career, Yeaman worked as a Public Education Consultant and Water Conservation Coordinator at the

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is an independent agency of the United States government tasked with environmental protection matters. President Richard Nixon proposed the establishment of EPA on July 9, 1970; it began operation on De ...

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

She moved to the Upper Delaware River region in the early 1980s and became involved with the Citizens Advisory Council that helped to establish the

Upper Delaware Scenic and Recreational River The Upper Delaware Scenic and Recreational River is a unit of the National Park Service designated under the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System. It stretches along of the Delaware River between Hancock, New York, and Sparrowbush, New York. ...

under the auspices of the

National Park Service The National Park Service (NPS) is an List of federal agencies in the United States, agency of the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government, within the US Department of the Interior. The service manages all List ...

. This was during a time of intense controversy over private property rights in the region. Outbreaks of violence and arson occurred within the community during this process. This intense experience as well as a cancer diagnosis is what led Yeaman to seek new preservation tools, such as conservation easements, to protect land along the Upper Delaware River; and it is ultimately what sparked her to found the Delaware Highlands Conservancy. “I was waiting for someone else to do it. But that didn't happen. I made a list of what was important to me, and starting a land trust was on the top of that list. I knew it could work,” Yeaman has said.

Delaware Highlands Conservancy

Yeaman founded the conservancy in 1994, at the age of 70. Since that time, the conservancy has worked with private landowners using a tool called a

conservation easement In the United States, a conservation easement (also called conservation covenant, conservation restriction or conservation servitude) is a power invested in a qualified land conservation organization called a "land trust", or a governmental (muni ...

to protect more than 14,000 acres along the Upper

Delaware River The Delaware River is a major river in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States and is the longest free-flowing (undammed) river in the Eastern United States. From the meeting of its branches in Hancock, New York, the river flows for a ...

, which in 2010 was named Most Endangered River in the United States by American Rivers, a national conservation organization based in Washington, D.C. The headwaters of the Upper Delaware River provide drinking water for New York City and

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

Death

Yeaman died on April 6, 2025, at the age of 100.

Awards

Yeaman was honored with the following awards for her land conservation efforts: * 2003 Environmental Partnership Award by the Pennsylvania Environmental Council * 2007 Ralph W. Abele Conservation Heritage Award from the

Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission The Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission is an independent state agency responsible for the regulation of all fishing and boating in the state of Pennsylvania within the United States of America. Unlike many U.S. states, Pennsylvania has a sepa ...

, which is "the highest recognition the PFBC provides to a person who has distinguished themselves in the cause of conservation."

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Yeaman, Barbara 1924 births 2025 deaths American women centenarians American conservationists People from Pittsburgh American women environmentalists University of California, Irvine alumni Women Airforce Service Pilots personnel 21st-century American women