Hatch Hill: A Lasting Conservation Legacy
Elizabeth Horn fondly recalls summers spent at her family land nestled in the rolling hills of Whitehall, New York. Exploring the property’s forests, cliffs, and wetlands, hiking up to the top of Hatch Hill, watching the sun set behind the low mountains rising above Lake Champlain’s South Bay—these pastimes filled many carefree days.
But the Horn family’s rustic off-the-grid camp was much more than a summer retreat. It also served as a summer research station. Elizabeth and her husband Henry both worked in the Biology Department at Princeton University. Henry, an ardent naturalist and ecology professor, studied the behavior of local butterfly populations and wrote scientific papers in the shadow of Hatch Hill.
The Horns always knew their land—with its unique woodlands, diverse array of natural communities, numerous wetlands, and the scenic forested summit of Hatch Hill—was special.
Now, after over 50 years of responsible stewardship, Elizabeth and her children are honoring Henry’s love of the natural world and his important contributions to the fields of ecology and plant biology by conserving their land with the Lake Champlain Land Trust.