For every $1 donated, the Land Conservancy is able to protect $16 worth of land. We are so grateful for the generosity and support of people throughout our region. Together we are making a difference!
We are always looking for volunteers to help with our fundraising events like EverGreen EverBlue and our social events like Triple Tap. If you enjoy socializing, pitching in, and helping others we need you.
Land. People. Communities. Help spread the word about the Land Conservancy’s vision for our region and learn about ways to get involved. Visit our profile on these social media sites.
UPCOMING
events & calendar
February 4, 2012
10:00 a.m.- 12:00 p.m.
New this year - learn how our woodland critters survive and deal with northern Ohio winters.
Saturday
March 31, 2012
Save the Date for Triple Tap!
News
and publications from the Land Conservancy
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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Western Reserve Land Conservancy
P.O. Box 314 | Novelty, OH 44072 | 440.729.9621 | Email Us