Becky Sprenkle can't imagine a summer without weekends at the tiny but cozy cottage overlooking the Susquehanna River.

She believed that someday she'd teach her grandchildren to swim in the Susquehanna and they would fall in love with the river just as she had — and just as her grandfather had envisioned in 1951, when he purchased the cabin, which is among a cluster of others in southern York County.

"Our community is one of strong friendships and good stewardship," the schoolteacher from West Lampeter Township said. "This is the type of community that I want my son to know and understand, a community of friendship to belong to.

"Losing the cabin is a reality that I never imagined facing. I would rather lose my home."

About 60 cottage owners who lease land in Lancaster and York counties find themselves in hand-wringing limbo as PPL prepares to transfer more than 3,700 acres flanking the lower Susquehanna to various groups for public use.

The land transfers are awaiting final approval from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.

PPL already has informed farmers in Lancaster County that this fall's harvest on three leased tracts totaling 105 acres will be their last.

In all in the two counties, PPL holds 130 leases and licenses for residential use that are now up in the air.

Some of the leases and licenses are for docks and gardens, and one is for a cell tower for emergency communications.

But it is the leases affecting knots of getaway cabins and year-round homes — in a few cases, $300,000 homes — that have spawned anxiety and wild rumors.

PPL has 60 leases involving land where homes have been built — many are the best getaway spots to be found.

In Lancaster County, most are along the Susquehanna and the Pequea Creek near Pequea, near the Holtwood Dam and along the Conestoga River near the Safe Harbor Dam.

"Seasonal cottages were already on the land when it was acquired. PPL allowed cottage owners to lease the land and retain the cottages to maintain good will in the community," Lissette Santana, a PPL spokeswoman, said.

That good will appears to be somewhat strained these days.

Leaseholders complain that the utility won't give them a straight answer on what is to be done with the land that is so dear to their hearts.

A by-invitation-only meeting PPL held at Willow Valley on Aug. 25 for leaseholders has not quieted all those concerns.

The confusion is exacerbated by the fact that 55 of the 130 leases and licenses will be transferred to Lancaster County Conservancy, the private nonprofit group that will manage 2,300 acres PPL is giving up.

This much is known about the leases of which PPL will retain control: The utility plans to eventually remove the cabins and homes and return the land to its natural state.

"Years out, our long-range plan is to eventually phase out residential use and make that land available for conservation and recreation," Santana said.

She could give no timetable. "There is no set time frame for this to occur, and we have no plans to evict cottage tenants," she said Wednesday.

Santana said one option PPL is considering is canceling the leases when tenant owners die. Or, if funding permits, the utility might pay tenants for their homes, cottages or cabins.

"If someone wants to sell and move away, we would be interested in that," she said.

The conservancy is telling owners of the 55 year-to-year leases that no decision has been made regarding what will be done with their properties.

As part of a long-range land-management plan, all the properties will be examined to gauge their impact on recreation, natural and cultural resources, archaeology and history, said Kathie Shirk Gonick, the conservancy's director of land protection.

No decisions are expected before the management plan is developed in late 2011.

"We really can't say what approach we will take," Gonick said. "This process is very objective. It will consider many facets and recommendations."

But when a recommendation is made, she said, conservancy officials will meet with each leaseholder individually.

It might be that the conservancy will allow some leaseholders to buy their properties or let them remain to serve as guardians of natural lands or for educational purposes, conservancy officials said.

Bonnie Wolfe and her mother, 88-year-old Gertrude Huber, are just tired of the uncertainty.

Huber's husband, Emmanuel, built their quaint cottage on a hillside on the outskirts of Pequea in 1950.

The couple raised five children there.

There are six leased homes on the ridge dating from 1945. Three are occupied year-round.

"I like the country," said Huber, who lost her husband a year ago. Her daughter moved in at that time.

She said she wants to stay as long as she can. But she doesn't know if she can live out her life there or whether she can will her home to her children and grandchildren.

Says her daughter, "It's just the not knowing."

acrable@lnpnews.com