Our land, our economy

To us, land preservation is important for a lot of reasons.

  • We are awed by our region's scenic beauty; Western-Reserve-Land-Conservancy-Economy
  • We value what open space means for our wildlife;
  • We treasure our region's working farms;
  • We want to preserve the quality of our water; and
  • We cherish the trails and parks that children and families enjoy so much.

All of these things breathe life and energy to our regional community but also to our regional economy.

 

Recently, our region's Fund for our Economic Future did a massive effort called Voices and Choices to learn from a dialogue among thousands of our citizens. The results showed clearly that people in our region love our natural resources, our farms, our Great Lake, our national park. The Fund for our Economic Future is focused on finding ways to revitalize our region's economy and this was a conversation about the economy. One of the most frequently noted responses in the dialogues was our environment. It makes sense, right? We all know that these things are connected – environment, land, people, economic health, and strong communities.

 

We are also learning that existing economic activity, new jobs, and new investment in our region are linked to our natural resources. Northern Ohio has been blessed with a unique core strength in our abundant natural resources. These include everything from top working farms, including vineyards, to world-class recreational amenities (fishing, boating, hiking, biking), to great fresh water. College kids looking for a place to live, leaders deciding on a location for a new business venture, relocating families – we all want to live in a region with the best amenities, and increasingly that includes natural resources.

 

The fact is our region is special. We are fortunate to enjoy so many special natural attributes. We are smart when we ensure our special places stay preserved, so they can contribute to our region's whole health and pay dividends for generations to come.

 

Click here to learn more about how you can get involved in supporting land preservation in ways that helps our entire regional community.