Western Reserve Land Conservancy

 

 

 

News

and publications from the Land Conservancy

May 2, 2012

Land Conservancy

opens Orrville office

The Land Conservancy has opened a Wayne County office at 140 East Market St., Suite 150, in Orrville.  Other Land Conservancy offices are located in Chesterland, Medina, Oberlin, Orwell, Painesville and Akron. Western Field Director Andy McDowell will work from the office on a part-time basis until a full-time staff member is assigned to Orrville.  McDowell can be contacted at (440) 773-6227.

 

May 1, 2012

Scene Magazine is

media sponsor for

Conservation Rocks!

Scene Magazine has been named the official media sponsor for the Land Conservancy's third annual Conservation Rocks! concert on Friday, June 8 at at the Beachland Ballroom and Tavern in Cleveland.  The concert features performers who also work locally in the field of conservation.  Tickets are $10 and can be purchased through the Beachland's box office or the Land Conservancy.

 

March 28, 2012

Land bank

viewed as a plus

for Stark County

The Canton Repository has published an in-depth story on how the fledgling Stark County Land Bank could help neighborhoods in Massillon, Canton and elsewhere by safely securing abandoned homes and vacant lots.  Thriving Communities Institute has been working with Stark County officials to establish the land bank.  You can read the story here.

 

March 22, 2012Demolition bonds

aim to prevent

'tsunami of blight'

Reporter Jennifer DePaul of The Bond Buyer has written a timely piece on a bill introduced by U.S. Reps. Steve LaTourette and Marcia Fudge that would provide $4 billion for states and land banks to issue demolition bonds to raze demolish vacant, foreclosed and abandoned homes across the country to prevent “a tsunami of blight.” Jim Rokakis, director of the Land Conservancy’s Thriving Communities Institute, helped craft the bill and is quoted in the story.

 

March 9, 2012

Fifth--generation farms preserved in Erie County

Nearly 600 acres of Erie County farmland have been permanently preserved by conservation easements granted by the Wallrabenstein family to the Land Conservancy.

The easements permanently restrict development of the land.

John and Shirley Wallrabenstein preserved their 415-acre farm in Oxford Township, while John’s mother, Marge, preserved her 150-acre farm in Milan Township. The fourth-generation farms have been in the family since the 1880s and are some of the most productive in the region, according to Andy McDowell, the Land Conservancy’s western field director.Read more..

 

February 24, 2012

Conservation loses a

transforming leader

The passing of Dick Grimm, who died at his home on Wednesday night, is a huge loss for conservation community and our region.  Mr. Grimm, a member of our Board of Trustees, was a friend and true leader. The entire Land Conservancy family is deeply saddened by his passing and extends its sympathy to his wife Sue and their family. President and CEO Rich Cochran described Mr. Grimm as “a transforming leader of the Land Conservancy. He was also an amazing husband, father, grandfather and friend. He was one of the best friends I have ever had.”

 

February 23, 2012

Trumbull County couple

preserves a record 3,100 acres

A Trumbull County couple has permanently preserved nearly 3,100 acres of farmland and natural areas in what is believed to be the state’s largest-ever land conservation transaction. Richard and Rhonda Thompson of Kinsman donated 23 conservation easements totaling 3,095 acres to the nonprofit Land Conservancy.  A conservation easement is a legal document in which the donor voluntarily restricts future development on his or her land while retaining ownership.

More than two-thirds of the property preserved by the Thompsons – about 2,157 acres – is farmland, and the conservation easements protect more than 11 miles of stream frontage. Read more..

 

February 10, 2012

New hope for

neighborhoods

Jim Rokakis, director of our Thriving Communities Institute, spoke at a press conference on Cleveland's East 144th Street this morning in which Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine discussed how foreclosure settlement funds will be used to rid neighborhoods of abandoned homes. Press conferences were also scheduled for Youngstown and Mansfield. In announcing the settlement, DeWine praised Rokakis as "the state's expert on the problem of vacant and abandoned homes in Ohio, and I thank him for the work he has undertaken."

 

January 19, 2012

Parkman Township

farm is preserved

A 285-acre working dairy farm with one of the most scenic views in Geauga County has been permanently protected by an agricultural easement barring future development. The Weedon Reservation Farm located at the corner of Route 528 and Hosmer Road in Parkman Township, is now permanently preserved for agricultural use under an easement held by the Geauga County Commissioners and the Land Conservancy. This working dairy farm was preserved under the state’s Agricultural Easement Purchase Program, a statewide, farmland-protection initiative administered by the Ohio Department of Agriculture.Read more..

 

January 19, 2012

Land Conservancy helps expand field station

Hiram College has added 152 acres of protected woodlands and wetlands property as part of its James T. Barrow Field Station east of the college’s main campus.  The Land Conservancy partnered with the college to acquire the property, which was formerly owned by Isaac Yomtovian and is adjacent to the Field Station.

The land was acquired as part of the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency’s Water Resource Restoration Sponsorship Program. The transfer expands the Field Station property to nearly 550 acres.Read more... 

December 27, 2011

Grant to help start

Erie Co. land bank

A $40,000 grant from the Sandusky/Erie County Community Foundation and two partners – the Randolph J. and Estelle M. Dorn and Frost-Parker foundations – will be used to establish a county land bank, one designed to return vacant and foreclosed properties to productivity.  The grant will help cover the cost of setting up the Erie County Land Reutilization Corporation, commonly referred to as a land bank.  Jim Rokakis, director of the Land Conservancy’s Thriving Communities Institute and a national expert on urban land revitalization, has been working closely with Erie County officials over the past few months to start a land bank.

 

Anna J. Oertel (pictured), executive director of the Sandusky/Erie County Community Foundation, said the organization is proud to be able to partner with the Dorn and Frost-Parker foundations to establish the land bank.Read more...

 

December 19, 2011

Missed '60 Minutes'?

You can watch here

If you were unable to catch Jim Rokakis, director of the Land Conservancy’s Thriving Communities Institute, on "60 Minutes" on Sunday, you can view the full segment here. For additional video footage and interviews, click on "What's next for Cleveland?" "Foreclosures spread to suburbs" or "Foreclosure scavengers go high tech." For more information on Thriving Communities Institute, vist our new website at www.thrivingcommunitiesinstitute.org.

 

December 17, 2011

Rokakis will appear

on '60 Minutes' segment

Jim Rokakis, director of the Land Conservancy’s Thriving Communities Institute and a nationally recognized expert on the housing foreclosure and vacancy crisis, is scheduled to appear on the Sunday, Dec. 18 episode of “60 Minutes,” which airs locally at 7 p.m. on CBS affiliate WOIO Channel 19 (after the Cleveland Browns-Arizona Cardinals game). Jim was interviewed by “60 Minutes” correspondent Scott Pelley for the segment, which is titled, “There Goes the Neighborhood.”  The report details how “recession-fueled foreclosures are causing extremely high vacancy rates in some neighborhoods, ruining the values of the occupied homes and forcing the demolitions of once valuable properties.” You can watch a preview of the segment here. This weekend, the Land Conservancy is also launching a new website dedicated to the work of Thriving Communities.  Visit the new site at www.thrivingcommunitiesinstitute.org.

Read more...

 

November 1, 2011

Land Conservancy receives

Great Lakes conservation award

The Land Conservancy and its conservation partners have been honored by the top environmental agencies of the United States and Canada for preserving land in the Grand River watershed and increasing public awareness of the ecosystem.

 

The Land Conservancy’s Grand River Corridor Protection Project was chosen as a 2011 Success Story by the State of the Lakes Ecosystem Conference (SOLEC) from 30 U.S. and Canadian nominations.  The award recognizes outstanding efforts to protect the Great Lakes Basin.

 

The SOLEC Success Story award was presented to the Land Conservancy at an Oct. 26 conference in Erie, Pa. SOLEC, which is a joint effort between the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and Environment Canada, provides independent, science-based reporting on the state of the health of the Great Lakes Basin ecosystem.

Read more...

 

October 18, 2011

Redevelopment expert speaks

at land banking conference

The Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland and Western Reserve Land Conservancy co-hosted the first-ever state conference on land banking in downtown Cleveland on October 12.  Dan Kildee, co-founder and president of the Center for Community Progress, delivered the keynote speech for The First Convening of Ohio Land Banks conference provided an interactive forum to discuss tactics and strategies with county officials and others who are considering this tool to address urban blight.

 

Jim Rokakis, director of Thriving Communities Institute, and Paul Kaboth, vice president and community affairs officer of the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland, kicked off the inaugural conference, one that not only encouraged the launch of new county land banks throughout Ohio, but also will provide an ongoing forum for networking and progress.

Read more...

 

October 4, 2011

First land bank

conference set

The Land Conservancy’s Thriving Communities Institute and the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland will host the first-ever conference on land banks on Oct. 12 in downtown Cleveland.  “The First Convening of Ohio Land Banks,” which runs from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. at the Wyndham Cleveland at Playhouse Square, 1260 Euclid Ave, will provide technical information and strategies to those who are considering this tool to address urban blight.  Earlier this year, the Land Conservancy established Thriving Communities and named former Cuyahoga County Treasurer Jim Rokakis as its director.  Rokakis is a nationally recognized expert on urban land reutilization and helped craft the Ohio law allowing the establishment of land banks. Find out more about it here.

 

September 29, 2011

Video highlights

economic value

of land protection

A new video produced by videographer and Land Conservancy volunteer Lee Will explores how preserving northern Ohio's exceptional natural resources is vital to the region's economic health. See how protecting land benefits everyone from outdoor enthusiasts to tourists to farmers.  The premiere of the video took place at this year’s Sept. 9 EverGreen EverBlue benefit.  You can view it here.

 

September 15, 2011

Land Conservancy

wins Emerald Award

Western Reserve Land Conservancy and its Thriving Communities Institute have won an Emerald Award from Crain’s Cleveland Business in recognition of the organization’s sustainable business practices.

The Land Conservancy captured the honor for nonprofit organizations with budgets in the $1 million to $4.9 million range.  The award recognizes sustainable business efforts that make a positive impact on the triple bottom line: Profits, People and Planet. The third annual Emerald Awards ceremony will take place on Sept. 20 at Cleveland State University’s Student Center.  You can read more about the Land Conservancy’s award here.

 

September 12, 2011

LTA president praises

Land Conservancy

One of the nation’s top conservationists described the Land Conservancy as “an extraordinary civic institution” and applauded the preservation work done by the organization in northern Ohio.

Rand Wentworth, president of the Washington, D.C.-based Land Trust Alliance, of which the Land Conservancy is a member, spoke at Friday’s EverGreen EverBlue, the Land Conservancy’s annual benefit.Read more... 

August 30, 2011

Meetings will focus

on Grand River plan

Residents of Ashtabula and Geauga counties will have a chance to voice their opinions about the future of the Grand River watershed at a series of public meetings scheduled by the Land Conservancy and the Grand River Partnership, which includes groups working in the watershed.

Read more...

 

August 13, 2011

Comments sought

on Portage project

The Ohio Environmental Protection Agency will make available for public information a Limited Environmental Review of the Eagle Creek / Silver Creek Confluence Project.  This project consists of ecosystem protection and restoration focusing on preserving water quality in Eagle Creek and Silver Creek in Portage County.  Upon its release, the document may be viewed at either:  Hiram College’s website at www.hiram.edu, Ohio EPA's website at www.epa.state.oh.us/defa/public_comment.aspx , Western Reserve Land Conservancy’s website here or in hard copy at the offices of Hiram College and Western Reserve Land Conservancy.  If you would like to receive either an electronic copy via e-mail or a paper copy of the document via U.S. mail upon its release, contact Christina Burri of Ohio EPA at christina.burri@epa.state.oh.us or (614) 644-3659.

 

July 12, 2011

Dayton, Cincinnati

ponder land banks

Jim Rokakis, director of the Land Conservancy's Thriving Communities Institute, comments on the benefits that land banks might provide to Montgomery and Hamilton counties.  Check out the story in the Dayton Daily News here.

 

July 11, 2011

Legislators win praise

for conservation

legislation

Private landowners – and especially family farmers – will be the beneficiaries of legislation, co-sponsored by U.S. Reps. Betty Sutton, D-13, Jim Renacci, R-16, Tim Ryan, D-17, Robert Latta, R-5, Marcy Kaptur, D-9 , and Steve LaTourette, R-14 , to make permanent the federal tax incentive for donations of conservation easements, according to the state’s largest land conservancy.Read more...

 

June 21, 2011

Friend from Hong Kong

visits future headquarters

A Land Conservancy member who lives half a world away from northern Ohio paid a visit to the organization’s future home on Tuesday. Ting Fong Lee, a former Firelands Land Conservancy intern who resides in Hong Kong, toured the Moreland Hills house and property that will become the Land Conservancy’s new headquarters sometime in 2012.Read more...

 

May 26, 2011

Our search for

endangered rattlesnakes

Rattlesnakes live in northern Ohio – a fact that surprises even some longtime residents.

The endangered Eastern Massasauga Rattlesnake, a venomous snake whose bite is rarely fatal to humans, can be found in the Grand River Lowlands.  Herpetologist Greg Lipps, who has done extensive research on the Massasauga and has worked closely with Western Reserve Land Conservancy, recently led a group in search of these snakes. Check out the video footage.

Read more...