A collection of anonymous donations — $3 million in total — will forever preserve 24 acres in Roxborough, slightly northeast of Gladwyne. The protection of the land, a plot known as the “Boy Scout tract,” was covered by Frank Kummer in The Philadelphia Inquirer.

The present owners, the nonprofit Schuylkill Center for Environmental Education, had considered selling it and using the proceeds to fund internal initiatives.

The park’s entry on the local real estate market would have certainly gained great interest from developers interested in its residential real estate potential.

It would clearly have garnered a hefty price.

But now, that plan is no longer on the table.

A portion of the largess will go toward the infrastructure needs of the environmental center.

Neighbors’ efforts to keep developers from swallowing up the onetime Boy Scout tract had multiple motivators.

One was to keep their surroundings uncluttered with traffic and noise associated with a residential community that would invariably replace it.

Another was to retain the plot’s quaint and woodsy feel. Community members are so protective of the wildlife that flourishes there that a sign warns visitors to be cautious of a “toad crossing” that amphibians use for travel each spring.

In evaluating the protective outcome, Upper Roxborough Civic Association president Rich Giordano said, “I can’t imagine a more welcome solution.”

More on the salvation of what was once a Montgomery County-adjacent Boy Scout tract is at The Philadelphia Inquirer.